How Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve got to the Hall of Fame
Cheryl Reeve stands in a small pool of reporters huddled on the sideline of a Minnesota Lynx practice court. But instead of looking directly at the reporters asking her questions, she’s focused on a bouncing basketball in the middle distance. Reeve’s pupils mirrored the bouncing basketball on the practice court in front of her — tracing the path of the ball as it sailed through the air and bounced off the rim. She doesn’t falter answering questions, but her attention remains on her players’ technique, seemingly filing feedback away for future improvement. What bounces her eyes back to the reporters is her own comeback to a question she’s gotten before: How do you know you’re picking the right person?“You better do your homework, you know? You don’t just bring anybody in,” she said. As she continues to answer the question, her team of carefully chosen WNBA players continues practice nearby.“Sometimes corporations ask us to go talk about things, and I tell them the single most important thing they’re doing is selection of people,” she said. That philosophy and what she’s been able to do with it is, in part, what has landed Reeve her latest honor: induction into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. Where Coach Reeve started: ‘Blue-collar toughness’ and high school basketball Circumstance landed Cheryl Reeve in the hotbed of girls and women’s basketball in the ‘70s. After a childhood on the road as an Air Force kid, the Reeves settled in the southern Jersey and Philadelphia area when Reeve was a teenager.The region is known for being an incubator for basketball talent — home to other stars like Dawn Staley, Crystal Langhorne and Muffet McGraw.In high school, a young Reeve became a star point guard for coach Dawn Bunting, who was then known as Dawn Schilling.“Coaching girls’ high school sometimes is like herding cats. And, you know, it’s tough, but what I admired about Cheryl was that she was never satisfied with where she was at. She’s always looking to get better, learn more and gain an edge,” Bunting said. Bunting has retired from coaching, but her memory of Reeve remains sharp. Reeve’s high school team made the state finals — the first Washington Township High School girl’s basketball team to do so.”All the qualities that eventually made her an outstanding coach was everything that she carried with her. Her drive, determination, her preparation, her commitment, her consistency, her relentlessness,” Bunting recalls.It was Bunting who nudged Reeve to consider a future in basketball over pursuing her other star talent, softball, which — at the time in the early ‘80s (and still today) — had few pro options. “I knew that she could take basketball further than she could take softball,” Bunting said. Bunting, who also hails from the Jersey/Philly area, has a fierce personality much like Reeve’s. It’s something they each had to navigate when taking coaching jobs in the Midwest. Growing up where Reeve did, she was surrounded by what Bunting calls “blue-collar toughness.”“You either survived or you failed, and nobody wanted to fail,” Bunting said. Cheryl Reeve, from Turnersville, N.J., was a star at La Salle University during the 1980s. She was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2017.
Courtesy of La Salle AthleticsThat same toughness shaped Reeve, who was — and remains — uninterested in excuses, according to her high school coach. Instead, a young Reeve focused on getting results, which was contagious to her teammates. “Her talent level picked everyone else’s talent level up, and when she left and she graduated, the players coming in saw that,” she recalls. She received scholarships to play basketball at La Salle University, where she studied computer science and management information systems. She was a four-year starter in the backcourt under great William “Speedy” Morris. In her senior year, she captained the Explorers to a 25-5 record, a national ranking. Morris, who is 84, has become more reserved in retirement after a Hall of Fame-making career of his own. But he never misses an opportunity to share his praise for Reeve. “I’m very proud of her and always will be, forever, of what she’s accomplished and what she continues to accomplish. She’s great for the game. She lives the game,” Morris said. After graduating, she spent 12 years coaching college basketball, including five at Indiana State. Her first WNBA coaching job was with the Charlotte Sting in 2001. She briefly moved to the Cleveland Rockers, then back to the Sting before joining the Detroit Shock in 2006. Reeve was named head coach of the Lynx in 2009. Alongside that, Reeve’s been a coach for the U.S.A. Women’s National Basketball Team at three Olympic Games, winning gold for each — including as head coach in 2024. She’s in her fourth year in the dual role of head coach and president of basketball operations at the Lynx, and she has been named WNBA Coach of the Year four times and WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year two times. And last fall, she became the all-time winningest coach for combined wins. Throughout the years, coaching stints, wins and losses, both Bunting and Morris have remained in touch with Reeve, but neither takes credit for the coach she has become. Fullscreen SlideshowPrevious Slide3 of 3.css-1le8xi7-Slide-Slide > img{max-height:0px;width:auto;}Cheryl Reeve, from Turnersville, N.J., was a star at La Salle University during the 1980s where she played for William “Speedy” Morris. She was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2017.
Courtesy of Keith Morris1 of 3.css-1le8xi7-Slide-Slide > img{max-height:0px;width:auto;}Cheryl Reeve, from Turnersville, N.J., was a star at La Salle University during the 1980s where she played for William “Speedy” Morris. She was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2017.
Courtesy of Keith Morris2 of 3.css-1le8xi7-Slide-Slide > img{max-height:0px;width:auto;}Cheryl Reeve, from Turnersville, N.J., was a star at La Salle University during the 1980s where she played for William “Speedy” Morris. She was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2017.
Courtesy of Keith MorrisNext SlideNowadays, they both catch as many Lynx games as they can, taking the opportunity to be on the other side of the court, watching. But unlike many spectators, their eyes aren’t always on the action. Instead, they watch Reeve. “It’s incredible watching her journey from player to one of the most respected coaches in the sport,” Bunting said. “She’s phenomenal, and she’s someone that young girls could look up to. I know she cares a lot about that.” A curated team: ‘It’s been the Lynx way’ Throughout her 16 seasons as Lynx head coach, Reeve’s teams have increasingly formed what any coach dreams of: natural chemistry on and off the court that transfers seamlessly into smooth playing. This season may be the best example of that yet. At practice, Lynx veteran Courtney Williams and rookie Olivia Miles, both natural comedians and competitors, dish out trash talk to each other ruthlessly. In between drills and after practice, their laughter echoes as loud as the sound of dribbling. Kayla McBride joins in like an older sister with a more reserved air. Napheesa Collier, a mentor alongside the other veterans despite being in recovery for ankle surgery, dishes it all right back. Napheesa Collier (24) and Courtney Williams (10) of the Minnesota Lynx do a handshake after winning a game against the Seattle Storm at Target Center on June 6, in Minneapolis. Ellen Schmidt | Getty ImagesNewcomers to the Lynx have gelled naturally. Nia Coffey, who joined the Lynx for the first time this season after playing in the WNBA for 10 years, has embraced the role of mentor, too. And Natasha Howard, who is back with the Lynx since being traded nearly a decade ago, has folded into the larger dynamic as another force of leadership. “It’s real, you know. You can’t fake that kind of stuff. It’s very organic,” Reeve said. “It’s been the Lynx way, the culture. And I think people have long said that about us, that you can see it in the way we play, that it’s real and sustainable. It helps you through hard times.” That chemistry has led to victory throughout her tenure. She was head coach during all four of the franchise’s championships. The Lynx hold the record for most players being inducted into the Hall of Fame.Reeve doesn’t select her players based on talent alone. Her commitment to who players are off the court has created a reputation. “The person really, really matters to us. We’ve been very, very fortunate, and when we’ve hit on a draft, whether obviously Maya Moore was the greatest superstar that this team at the time could have, because we were so selfless, and she fits so perfectly in that,” Reeve said. Reeve is quick to admit that she hasn’t always gotten it right.But for draft picks that have worked out, she considers Olivia Miles to be the latest reminding her of Moore and Napheesa Collier, who Reeve said exemplify the Lynx’s values. Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve talks with her team during a timeout against the Seattle Storm in the second half of Game 3 of their WNBA basketball first-round playoff series, Oct. 2, 2012, in Minneapolis. The Lynx won 73-72.AP Photo | Stacy Bengs“We’re thankful that Liv is who she is,” Reeve said at a June practice. “We were fortunate that it hit right for us this time to marry the generational talent, along with being a tremendous person, and that’s who the Lynx are.” The rookie agrees that she’s in the right spot. “She’s so brilliant in what she sees, and I’m just so grateful that she saw me in her system,” Miles said. “When we led with that sort of trust and respect and belief, it allowed our relationship to grow, and it’s getting better each game.” Off the court, Reeve knows the importance of being supported as a person. The judgement she faced as an out lesbian has made her a longtime advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and gender equality. She has also been outspoken about racial justice and gun violence. Much of her activism was inspired by her wife, Carley Knox, who has long been an advocate for gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, social justice and women’s athletics. Knox has been president of business operations at the Lynx since 2021.The two met in 2006 while working for the Detroit Shock. “Both of their life journeys are shaped by activism, by understanding that women’s sports is not just women’s sports, and it is in fact a larger conversation,” author and sports journalist Howard Megdal said. That activism has paved the way for Lynx players to voice their opinions — creating a culture of activism for the team. Megdal says Reeve inspired players like Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus to speak out on social justice issues like criminal justice reform and marriage equality, respectively.“It was less about pushing players to do something and much more about creating the space for players to come to it of their own accord and supporting them when they did,” Megdal said. At times, speaking out meant pushing back on the League itself. Reeve, second from right, yells at officials as she is restrained by Lynx associate head coach Eric Thibault, center, and Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman, right, after being ejected after earning a second technical foul during the second half of Game 3 of a WNBA basketball playoff semifinals series game against the Phoenix Mercury Sept. 26, 2025, in Phoenix. Ross D. Franklin | APOver the course of the past year, Collier has used her platform to raise issues within the league related to player treatment, leadership and fair pay. Reeve’s career has been marked by moments of fierce defiance to officiating. In 2012, she tore off her jacket and threw it during Game 2 of the 2012 WNBA Finals. In 2025, Reeve was fined $15,000 for walking onto the court to confront officials and for her subsequent post-game conduct during a press conference. As for veteran Kayla McBride, she has seen Reeve’s support firsthand over their six years together. “Ending up with one of the best coaches ever, point blank. Period. I think it changes you. It changed the trajectory of my career and allowed me to kind of bloom into who I really could be in this league, and it’s a big part to Cheryl,” McBride said. McBride’s appreciation for Reeve goes beyond bringing her to Lynx during a pivotal time in her career. She said Reeve has pushed her as a player and as a person. “We talk about all the time how we’ll be in each other’s lives forever, and it started with a basketball game, but it turned into, like, a lifelong friendship,” McBride said. “I’m just really, really grateful, not only for the basketball mind, but just also this person that she is.” Creating the next generation of coaches: ‘There’s no question that she’s the best’ After rallying to their fourth championship, Reeve told players Rebekkah Brunson, Seimone Augustus and Lindsay Whalen they’d never be traded. She promised that when they retired, it would be in Lynx jerseys.Reeve made the promise in a private meeting almost a decade ago. Every player has retired since, but it didn’t take long for some to find their way back to Minneapolis. For example, Brunson became an assistant coach in 2020 right after retiring. And Whalen went on to coach the University of Minnesota women’s team but came back to the Lynx shortly after and has been there since. Fullscreen SlideshowPrevious Slide3 of 3.css-1le8xi7-Slide-Slide > img{max-height:0px;width:auto;}Minnesota Lynx players, from left to right, Plenette Pierson (22), Brunson (32), Sylvia Fowles (34) and Temi Fagbenle (14) celebrate after winning Game 3 of the WNBA basketball semifinals game against the Washington Mystics, Sept. 17, 2017, in Washington. Pablo Martinez Monsivais | AP1 of 3.css-1le8xi7-Slide-Slide > img{max-height:0px;width:auto;}Minnesota Lynx teammates Moore, Whalen, Augustus and Brunson, from left, celebrate on the bench during the fourth quarter of an August WNBA basketball game against the Washington Mystics in Minneapolis. AP Photo | Hannah Foslien2 of 3.css-1le8xi7-Slide-Slide > img{max-height:0px;width:auto;}Cheryl Reeve and Rebekkah Brunson of the Minnesota Lynx react on the sidelines during the first half against the Los Angeles Sparks at Crypto.com Arena on July 10, 2025, in Los Angeles. Harry How | Getty ImagesNext SlideFormer players Plenette Pierson was also an assistant coach, and Janel McCarville joined the coaching staff this season. Megdal said these stars coming back are a testament to the relationship Reeve built and the promise she outlined. “The pledge she made was we’re going to keep this group together until the wheels fall off, and that’s effectively what happened,” he said. “They let everyone play until their careers were concluded, and that has created a lifelong bond between Cheryl and the players on her 2010 teams that has led to them returning to the fold.” It’s allowed Reeve to pass down a different aspect of her love for and experience in the sport as she ushers in the next era of WNBA coaches. “It’s really special for me. It’s a privilege for me, the fact that they want to do it,” Reeve said. Whalen and Brunson have continued to watch Reeve with a close eye, filing notes of their own. “There’s no question that she’s the best,” Whalen said. “To think about the Hall of Fame as a coach, knowing all the work that it had to take as a player to get in, that’s just kind of like next level for me to think about, so it’s very, very impressive, and I’m really proud of her, and I’m proud to have been a part of her journey.”
تم النشر: 2026-06-26 13:57:00
مصدر: www.mprnews.org
