For Reeve, Award Is More About The League Than Herself

When Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve entered the WNBA 16 seasons ago, the league wasn’t where it’s at today.

And that’s expected. Leagues and sports evolve. The WNBA certainly has.

After winning the WNBA Coach of the Year for the second time in her career (the first came in 2011), Reeve said some of that is a huge credit to the coaches she’s going up against, pushing her every night.

“I’ve seen a lot of coaches and I think that coaching in this league is at an all-time high and there were so many coaches that I thought were worthy of consideration for this award,” Reeve said during a press conference on Friday before Game 2 against the Phoenix Mercury.

“I enjoy the challenge that they impose each and every night. I think we all enjoy that we bring out the best in each other.”

Reeve isn’t unfamiliar with success. In seven years with the Lynx, she’s compiled 155 wins and has won three WNBA championships.

In 2016, though, the Lynx won a franchise-record 28 games, earning the No. 1 seed in the WNBA playoffs, two games above the Los Angeles Sparks.

Reeve had the challenge of a new roster and an Olympic break. For the roster, the team added pieces like Natasha Howard and Jia Perkins, two players who had to learn on the run in a well-oiled machine. And for the Olympic break, Reeve was an assistant coach and the team had four players in Rio, along with Howard on the Olympic Select Team. In other words, they didn’t have a break.

It’s probably hard to reflect on the award during the middle of the playoffs. Reeve is already in the history books for what she’s been able to do with the Lynx. Another Finals appearance and a championship would be deserving of her own chapter.