Cheryl Reeve

Cheryl Reeve is an American basketball head coach and general manager for the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA. Reeve has coached the Lynx to four league championships. In WNBA history, she has the highest winning percentage, she's won the most games of any female coach, and she's won the most postseason games of any coach.[1][2] Reeve was named the WNBA Coach of the Year in 2011, 2016, and 2020 [3] and WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year in 2019.

Cheryl Reeve
Reeve in 2018
Minnesota Lynx
PositionHead coach, general manager
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1966-09-20) September 20, 1966
NationalityAmerican
Career information
High schoolWashington Township
(Sewell, New Jersey)
CollegeLa Salle (1984–1988)
Coaching career1988–present
Career history
1988–1990La Salle (assistant)
1990–1995George Washington (assistant)
1995–2000Indiana State
2001–2002Charlotte Sting (assistant)
2003Cleveland Rockers (assistant)
2004–2005Charlotte Sting (assistant)
2006–2009Detroit Shock (assistant)
2010–presentMinnesota Lynx
Career highlights and awards
As head coach:

As assistant coach:

Early life and education

Reeve grew up in Washington Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey and graduated from Washington Township High School in 1984, where she was part of the school's first team to make the state finals.[4] In 1988, Reeve was a Rhodes Scholar nominee and received a MAAC Scholar-Athlete Post Graduate Award and an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship. She earned a bachelor's degree in computer science that year and then an MBA, both from La Salle University.[5]

Coaching career

Reeve started out as assistant coach at her alma mater, La Salle for two years. She was then an assistant at George Washington for five years. The Colonials posted five 20-win seasons, captured three Atlantic 10 Conference Championships and appeared in four NCAA tournaments during Reeve's stint at George Washington. Her first head coaching position was with the Indiana State Sycamores from 1995 to December 1st of the 2000–2001 season (replaced by her assistant coach Jim Wiedie).[6][7][8][9] She improved the team's record each year for the first four seasons, and led the squad to its first postseason berth in 20 years following the 1998-1999 campaign. She's currently ranked 5th in Wins within Lady Sycamore annals

Reeve got her start in the WNBA with the Charlotte Sting in 2001 when she joined Anne Donovan’s staff as an assistant. After posting an 8-24 record the year previous, Charlotte turned things around in Reeve’s first year by going 18-14 and advancing to the WNBA Finals. They followed in 2002, with another 18-14 mark and their second straight appearance in the postseason.

Following the 2002 campaign, Donovan left to become the head coach of the Seattle Storm, and Dan Hughes and the Cleveland Rockers hired Reeve away from Charlotte. The Rockers advanced to the playoffs that year, but in the offseason ownership decided to cease operation of the team making Reeve a coaching free agent. She rejoined the Sting staff for the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Reeve then spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the Detroit Shock, also serving as the team's last general manager before they moved to Tulsa.

Minnesota Lynx
Reeve coaching the Lynx in 2011

Reeve was named the head coach of the Minnesota Lynx on December 8, 2009. In her first season, the Lynx went 13-21, missing the playoffs. The team was hampered by injuries to Candice Wiggins and Seimone Augustus. At one point, a frustrated Reeve said bluntly, "We are a bad basketball team. It starts at the top. I have not been able to get them to understand defensively what we need to get done and, clearly, our offense is one of the worst in the league."[10]

The Lynx improved dramatically in 2011. With Wiggins and Augustus back healthy, and with the addition of rookie Maya Moore, the team got off to a quick start and did not falter throughout the regular season, finishing with a league-best 27–7 record. The dramatic turnaround earned Reeve the WNBA Coach of the Year Award in just her second year as a head coach at the professional level.[11][12] The Lynx finished what they started, losing only one game in the playoffs en route to their first WNBA championship.

Reeve in 2013

Reeve took her team back to the playoffs in her third year. The team qualified for the playoffs after just 21 games, the fastest in franchise history. Reeve became the winningest coach in Lynx franchise history on August 26, 2012, with a win over the Atlanta Dream.[13] The Lynx went on to lose to the Indiana Fever in the WNBA Finals.

In 2013, Reeve and her staff coached the WNBA Western Conference All-Star Team, as the Lynx had won the conference championship the previous year. Reeve's squad included four Lynx players -- Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore, Rebekkah Brunson, and Lindsay Whalen. Reeve's team ended up winning the game, 102–98.[14] Reeve's team then swept through the playoffs, going 7-0 en route to their second championship under her leadership.

Reeve is currently the winningest coach in franchise history, both in terms of the number of won games and winning percentage, and by percentage the winningest coach in WNBA history. She won her 100th regular season game on June 2, 2014, in a victory over the San Antonio Stars. She won her 31st postseason game on September 30, 2016, in a semi-final victory over the Phoenix Mercury, to move into first place in WNBA history in playoff wins.

Reeve was named the WNBA coach of the year by a panel of media representatives in 2016.[15]

In December 2017, Reeve was also promoted to the Lynx General Manager position.[16]

Reeve was named the AP coach of the year in 2020,[17] as well as the WNBA Coach of the Year.[18]

Personal life

Reeve is married to singer and Lynx vice president Carley Knox. They have one child, Oliver, who Knox said has seen every Lynx home game since he was born.[19]

Coaching record

Indiana State
YearGWLW-L%ConferenceNotes
1995-9626719.2693–15 (9th)[20]
1996-97271413.5199–9 (T4th)[21]
1997-98281711.60710–8 (4th)MVC Tournament 2nd round[22]
1998-99291811.62110–8 (4th)MVC Tournament 2nd round, WNIT at Wisconsin[23]
1999-0027918.3335–13 (T7th)[24]
2000-01615.1670-0Resigned on December 1st, 2000.[6][7][25]
Overall1436677.46237-53[6]

Minnesota Lynx
Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
MIN 2010 341321.3825th in West——— Missed Playoffs
MIN 2011 34277.7941st in West871.875 Won WNBA Finals
MIN 2012 34277.7941st in West954.555 Lost WNBA Finals
MIN 2013 34268.7651st in West7701.000 Won WNBA Finals
MIN 2014 34259.7352nd in West532.600 Lost in Western Conference Finals
MIN 2015 342212.6471st in West1073.700 Won WNBA Finals
MIN 2016 34286.8241st in West853.625 Lost in WNBA Finals
MIN 2017 34277.7941st in West862.700 Won WNBA Finals
MIN 2018 341816.5294th in West101.000 Lost in 1st Round
MIN 2019 341816.5294th in West001.000 Lost in 1st Round
MIN 2020 22148.6364th in West413.250 Lost in Semifinals
Career 362245117.677604120.672

References
  1. Andrews, Julian (July 6, 2018). "Column: Reeve's Legend Grows As She Rights The Lynx's Ship". NBA Media Ventures. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  2. Reeve winning percent in: Peden, Mike (June 2, 2017). "Cheryl Reeve wins inaugural Coach of the Month award". Summitt Hoops. FanSided. and postseason records in: "WNBA Finals 101: Storylines to Know Ahead of Historic Rematch". WNBA. NBA Media Ventures. September 21, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  3. "Minnesota's Cheryl Reeve Named 2016 WNBA Coach of Year". WNBA. NBA Media Ventures. September 30, 2016. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  4. Caffrey, Michelle. "Championship WNBA coach and Washington Township graduate to be honored by Philadelphia Sports Writers Association", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, January 22, 2012. Accessed September 23, 2017. "Cheryl Reeve has made her hometown proud. A 1984 graduate of Washington Township High School, Reeve recently led the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx team to a championship victory."
  5. "Head coach of the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx". La Salle University. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  6. "Sycamores Ready for Bahamas Sunsplash Shootout". gosycamores.com. Indiana State Sports. December 16, 2009. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  7. "SIU Set to Host Indiana State". Southern Illinois Salukis. January 24, 2001. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  8. "Wiedie Remains Indiana State Coach". AP News. March 27, 2001. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  9. Bode, Gus (January 17, 2001). "MVC women's basketball outlook". Daily Egyptian. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  10. Lynx coach knows good basketball
  11. Reeve Named WNBA Coach of the Year
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. Augustus, Brunson lead Lynx past Dream Archived August 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  14. Parham, Nate. "2013 WNBA All-Star Game Final Score: Candace Parker's MVP Performance Leads West to 102-98 Victory." Swish Appeal. 27 July 2013.
  15. "Cheryl Reeve wins WNBA Coach of the Year". September 30, 2016. Archived from the original on October 3, 2016. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  16. Youngblood, Kent (December 28, 2017). "Lynx's Cheryl Reeve promoted to general manager". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  17. "Crystal Dangerfield is Rookie of Year, Cheryl Reeve top coach in media WNBA awards". Star Tribune. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  18. "Cheryl Reeve Named WNBA Coach Of The Year". WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  19. Ziegler, Cyd (December 21, 2017). "Minnesota Lynx coach and VP come out publicly as married couple". SB Nation: Vox Media. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  20. "Statistics Summary for 1995-96" (PDF). GoSycamores.com. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  21. "Statistics Summary for 1996-97" (PDF). GoSycamores.com. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  22. "Statistics Summary for 1997-98" (PDF). GoSycamores.com. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  23. "Statistics Summary for 1998-99" (PDF). GoSycamores.com. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  24. "Statistics Summary for 1999-00" (PDF). GoSycamores.com. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  25. "Statistics Summary for 2000-01" (PDF). GoSycamores.com. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
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