Cheryl Reeve (born September 20, 1966) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other Coach (sport), coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manage ...

and President of Basketball Operations for the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team won the WNBA title in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. Founded ...

of the WNBA. Reeve has coached the Lynx to four league championships. In WNBA history, she has the highest winning percentage, she has won the most games of any female coach, and she has won the most postseason games of any coach. Reeve was named the

WNBA Coach of the Year The Women's National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the league's inaugural season. The winner is selected at the end of regular season by a panel of sportsw ...

in 2011, 2016, and 2020 and WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year in 2019.

Early life and education

Reeve grew up in

Washington Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey Washington Township is a township in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 48,677, an increase of 118 from the 2010 census count of 48,559, which in turn reflected an in ...

and graduated from Washington Township High School in 1984, where she was part of the school's first team to make the state finals. In 1988, Reeve was a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

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 La Salle University () is a private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. History L ...

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 1 of the 2000–2001 season (replaced by her assistant coach Jim Wiedie). 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 tied with Kay Riek for 5th in Wins among Lady Sycamore annals Reeve got her start in the WNBA with the

Charlotte Sting The Charlotte Sting were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007. The Sting was originally the sister organization of ...

in 2001 when she joined

Anne Donovan Anne Theresa Donovan (November 1, 1961 – June 13, 2018) was an American women's basketball player and coach. From 2013 to 2015, she was the head coach of the Connecticut Sun. In her playing career, Donovan won a national championship with Ol ...

’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 The WNBA Finals are the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion of the league's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002. Starting 2016 Verizon is the offici ...

. 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 The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerl ...

, and Dan Hughes and the

Cleveland Rockers The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Cleveland, that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which started in 1997. The owner was Gordon G ...

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 The Detroit Shock were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006, and 2008 WNBA champions. Debuting in 1998, the Shock were one of the league's first expansion franchises. T ...

, also serving as the team's last general manager before they moved to

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. In the last two Olympics, the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro and 2020 in Tokyo, Reeve has served as an assistant coach on Team USA. In 2016, Geno Auriemma was the head coach, while Staley took over for the 2020 competition. Before taking on her role among the assistant coaching staff, Reeve had served as an assistant for the 2014-16 USA National Team that took home gold medals at the 2014 FIBA World Cup Team and 2016 Olympic Games. She returned as an assistant for the 2018 World Cup Team, winning gold and qualifying the USA for the 2020 Olympics.

Minnesota Lynx

Reeve was named the head coach of the

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 Candice Dana Wiggins (born February 14, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player. Wiggins played college basketball at Stanford University, where she graduated as the all-time leading scorer in Stanford and Pac-10 women's baske ...

and

Seimone Augustus Seimone Delicia Augustus (born April 30, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted first overa ...

. 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." The Lynx improved dramatically in 2011. With Wiggins and Augustus back healthy, and with the addition of rookie

Maya Moore Maya April Moore (born June 11, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx, who is currently on sabbatical. Naming her their inaugural Performer of the Year in 2017, ''Sports Illustrated'' called Moore the greatest ...

, 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 The Women's National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the league's inaugural season. The winner is selected at the end of regular season by a panel of sportswr ...

in just her second year as a head coach at the professional level. The Lynx finished what they started, losing only one game in the playoffs en route to their first WNBA championship. Cheryl Reeve cropped

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 The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real e ...

. The Lynx went on to lose to the

Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the 2000 season began. The team is owned ...

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 --

, Rebekkah Brunson, and

Lindsay Whalen Lindsay Marie Whalen (born May 9, 1982) is the head coach of the University of Minnesota's women's basketball team. She began her professional career as a point guard for the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) ...

. Reeve's team ended up winning the game, 102–98. Reeve's team then swept through the playoffs, going 7-0 en route to their second

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

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 The San Antonio Stars were a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the Utah Starzz before th ...

. She won her 31st postseason game on September 30, 2016, in a semi-final victory over the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season ...

, 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. In December 2017, Reeve was also promoted to the Lynx General Manager position. Reeve was named the AP coach of the year in 2020, as well as the WNBA Coach of the Year.

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.

Coaching record

Indiana State

Minnesota Lynx

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2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

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2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, 34, , 27, , 7, , .794, , align="center" , 1st in West, , 9, , 5, , 4, , .555 , align="center" , Lost

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2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

, 34 , , 26, , 8, , .765, , align="center" , 1st in West, , 7 , , 7 , , 0 , , 1.000 , align="center" , Won

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2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

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2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

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2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

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2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

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1st Round First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

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2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

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2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

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Semifinals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...

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2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

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Second Round The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...

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2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...

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References

External links

WNBA profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reeve, Cheryl 1966 births Living people American women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from New Jersey Basketball players from New Jersey Charlotte Sting coaches Cleveland Rockers coaches Detroit Shock coaches Lesbian sportswomen LGBT basketball players LGBT people from New Jersey American LGBT sportspeople Minnesota Lynx head coaches Place of birth missing (living people) Indiana State Sycamores women's basketball coaches La Salle Explorers women's basketball players People from Washington Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey Sportspeople from Gloucester County, New Jersey Washington Township High School (New Jersey) alumni Women's National Basketball Association championship-winning head coaches Women's National Basketball Association general managers 21st-century LGBT people