Lynx Stars Make Case for Cheryl Reeve To Win WNBA Coach of the Year

The Minnesota Lynx have been one of the best franchises in the WNBA since Cheryl Reeve took over as head coach in 2010, as they are the only team to win four championships since then.

While the Lynx have not won a title since 2017, they got back on track last season by making it to the Finals, and are tracking to get back over the hump this season. Through 37 games, the Lynx are a league-best 30-7, looking to secure the top seed in the playoffs with a win on Thursday night.

Reeve has already won four WNBA Coach of the Year awards, most recently winning last year’s, but also bringing home the award in 2020, 2016, and 2011.

With a win on Thursday, the Lynx will break the record for most wins in a season in franchise history (31) and clinch the best record in the WNBA, so there is not much more Reeve has to do to make her case for Coach of the Year. A few Lynx players have recently made their case for Reeve to win this year’s award.

“I think she has a great case,” Napheesa Collier said. “The way that Cheryl, year after year, is able to put players together, put them in places to be successful and honestly out perform our metrics every single year… I think that is a huge testament to her coaching style. The way she’s able to make adjustments in game, the way we’re able to pull out in a lot of close games, a lot of that comes down to coaching, so I think without a doubt Cheryl should be coach of the year.”

Lynx star guard Kayla McBride also chimed in.

“It’s hard to put into words what Cheryl has meant to me, let alone this team, especially over the last two years,” McBride said. “Her ability to bring people together and get us to play at a very very high level. The accountability, I think it’s kind of like a lost art the way she coaches… she’s created this environment for us to flourish in. When you have a coach like that who cares about you on and off the court, you want to be able to give everything that you have.”

Courtney Williams also made a strong case for Reeves.

“I feel like she should be coach of the year, we’re the number one team… even what our team was able to do when Phee went down, that takes coaching. Right? That takes putting that belief in your players and letting them know that we’re going to be all right,” Williams said.

Standout forward Alanna Smith shared her opinion as well, thinking that there is no reason for the league not to give her the award every year.

“I mean she’s been good for so long, it’s just become almost an expectation for her to do the best every year… even if she’s one coach of the year multiple times in a row, if she’s doing the same thing, she should get the same award. I’m just really grateful to be coached by someone like Cheryl,” Smith said.

Of course, the Lynx players are going to vouch for their coach, just as they would support Napheesa Collier in her MVP race, but it is certainly hard for anyone to argue against Cheryl Reeve as the 2025 WNBA Coach of the Year.