Lynx's Cheryl Reeve wins record fifth WNBA Coach of the Year award

Cassidy Hettesheimer, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Sep 28, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

MINNEAPOLIS — Much of the past, present and future success of the Lynx franchise sits in the hands of head coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve.

On Monday, Reeve — after receiving her record fifth WNBA Coach of the Year award — sat side by side onstage with a big part of that future, Olivia Miles, the 2026 Rookie of the Year.

When asked how Miles fit into her outlook for the franchise, Reeve kept it simple: “I just want to win tomorrow.” Then, a grin. “So the future is bright for Liv. Tomorrow.”

It’s a delicate balancing act. The Lynx are gearing up to depart for New York and a must-win Game 2 in the first round of the WNBA playoffs on Tuesday.

But for a half-hour in the atrium of Target Center, Reeve and the team celebrated a league-best 33-11 regular season.

It was one that started with five of last year’s top eight rotation players leaving in free agency or expansion, slotting in a new rookie point guard and star Napheesa Collier missing 27 games while recovering from ankle surgery.

“That’s the joy in this, that we didn’t know when we got into things, exactly how this was going to end,” Reeve said. “We get to work every day, and we lock in for our wins of the day.”

Reeve received 40 of the 74 votes from a panel of national and local media members. Golden State’s Natalie Nakase — the 2025 Coach of the Year — finished second, with 20 votes. Washington Mystics head coach Sydney Johnson earned 14.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert presented Reeve with her trophy, to go along with the awards she won in 2011, 2016, 2020 and 2024. No other WNBA coach has won the award more than three times.

“These achievements speak to her ability to develop talent, inspire her players and consistently bring the best out of her team,” Engelbert said.

Reeve was surprised with the news by her 11-year-old son, Oliver, at a recent Lynx practice. Reeve joked that her reaction, caught on video, made her look “soft,” but then softened and gushed, “I’m just so proud of Oliver. ... His passion and love for the WNBA and our players and the conversations that we have, he’s like an assistant GM.”

Reeve credited her wife, Lynx president of business operations Carley Knox, for her support, as well as the rest of the Lynx coaching staff and her players.

At one point, Reeve got emotional talking about how the Lynx’s captains — Collier, Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams — returned after an unprecedented free agency and helped her integrate rookie point guard Miles into the team’s system.

“[McBride]’s words ...” Reeve recalled, trailing off. “She said, ‘I don’t know what lies ahead, but I’m here for it, whatever it is, being here with you.’”

McBride lifted her hands above the rows of Lynx players, staff and media seated in the atrium and made a heart toward her teary-eyed coach, who continued: “Pouring into you is one of my greatest joys.”

Reeve’s Coach of the Year award added to what was a milestone season for the Lynx head coach. She was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in June and passed Mike Thibault for the all-time head coaching regular-season wins record in July — all with the Lynx, which she took over in 2010.

Reeve already holds the record for postseason wins as a head coach, and is tied for the most titles as a head coach, with four.

She and the Lynx are looking to add to that number on Tuesday, when they face the New York Liberty in Brooklyn at Barclays Center in a must-win Game 2 in the first round of the WNBA playoffs. The Lynx dropped Game 1 91-75 on Sunday at Target Center.

____