Cheryl Reeve

Cheryl Reeve is recognized as a significant figure in women's basketball. As head coach and president of basketball operations for the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA, Reeve has established a record of sustained achievement and leadership in professional basketball. Before her professional coaching career, Reeve spent more than a decade in collegiate basketball, including five years as head coach at Indiana State, where she led the program to its first postseason appearance in two decades. She also served as an assistant at George Washington, contributing to three Atlantic 10 Conference Championships and four NCAA Tournament appearances. As a player at La Salle, Reeve set the school record for most games started and was a Rhodes Scholar nominee, earning both a MAAC Scholar-Athlete Postgraduate Award and an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship.

Reeve began her WNBA coaching career as an assistant with the Charlotte Sting, contributing to the team's turnaround and Finals appearance. She later joined the Detroit Shock, where she was part of two championship-winning staffs and served as director of player personnel. As head coach of the Minnesota Lynx, Reeve led one of the most significant turnarounds in league history, improving the team's win total by 14 games in her second season and securing the franchise's first championship. She has guided the Lynx to four WNBA championships and multiple additional Finals appearances, establishing the team as a dominant force in professional basketball.

Reeve is a four-time WNBA Coach of the Year, the first coach in league history to earn the honor four times, and a two-time WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year, becoming only the second individual to receive both awards in the same season. She has also been named AP Coach of the Year twice. Reeve holds the records for most regular-season wins, postseason wins, and combined wins of any coach in WNBA history. She is the longest continuously tenured coach in the league, leading the same franchise for more than 15 seasons. Reeve was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, becoming only the second WNBA coach to receive this honor.

Reeve's influence extends to international basketball as head coach of the USA Women's Basketball National Team, where she led the team to a FIBA World Cup title and an Olympic gold medal, contributing to the longest Olympic gold medal streak in any traditional team sport. Her tenure with USA Basketball produced a combined 74-4 overall record, including a perfect 50-0 mark in official FIBA competition. Reeve has also been inducted into the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame, underscoring her impact on the state's sports history. Her career reflects a commitment to advancing women's basketball and professional sports leadership.