After many years of struggle, Cheryl Reeve finally got her dream job in the WNBA. In 2009, she was named the head coach of the Minnesota Lynx. As it was a moment to prove her caliber, Reeve started fresh with the Lynx. But soon she stood disappointed, ranting at the Lynx. “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,” she said out of frustration, pointing at the Minnesota Lynx’s 13-21 record, missed playoffs, and hampering injuries to Seimone Augustus and Candice Wiggins.

At this time, Reeve was completely unaware that the team she was shouting at would make her one of the highest-paid head coaches in the WNBA. Read on to know how Reeve accomplished a lot in her life so far.

Navigating the early challenges

Hailing from New Jersey, the first position Reeve always eyed was head coach. During high school, she was part of the first team to make it to the state finals. Now that she had graduated, it was time to opt for a career, and Reeve did what was unexpected. Despite completing a degree in computer science, she became an assistant coach at La Salle.

After gaining as much as possible for two years, Reeve moved to an assistant position at George Washington for the next five years. In 1995, she finally took up her first head coaching position with the Indiana State Sycamores. But as her thirst was still unquenched, she moved to the WNBA. She continued with the women’s league for the coming year. Finally, she saw light in the dark as she got the position of head coach at the Lynx. However, her happiness was short-lived as her team shattered all her expectations.

After two years of hard work, the Lynx made considerable improvement in 2011. Thanks to Wiggins and Augustus, who returned healthier than ever before. Additionally, rookie Maya Moore added a cherry on top and the Lynx roster finished with a league-best 27-7 record. And that’s how Reeve went from an abysmal record to the best in just three years. However, the journey had far more to go.

Cheryl Reeve’s remarkable tenure

Moving on, Reeve compiled the most number of regular season wins in the league with 281. In fact, she became one of only two WNBA coaches with a record of winning 65% of games in their career. Additionally, her 41 career playoff victories with a remarkable .661 winning percentage is the league’s best.

The Lynx, on the other hand, hit four championship wins in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017 under Reeve. They even recorded playoff streaks for 11 consecutive seasons until 2022. “Pro sports, you don’t necessarily have that opportunity for longevity all the time. I feel incredibly fortunate that I have this opportunity,” Reeve told ESPN.

In 2022, Reeve’s contract with the Lynx was set to end. Now, the New Jersey native already stood with lucrative offers from the Los Angeles Sparks, Dallas Wings, Connecticut Sun, and Indiana Fever. But as it was extremely hard to let a coach like Reeve go, the Lynx came up with another contract. This time it was a multi-year extension deal.

Signing a golden deal

Cheryl Reeve finally inked the deal and moved from general manager to president of basketball operations. This time, Reeve signed for $700K, making her the third highest-paid WNBA coach. However, she’s accompanied by Los Angeles Sparks’ coach Curt Miller, who has the exact same salary as her.

While Phoenix Mercury’s HC, Nate Tibbetts, tops the list with $1.2 million, Becky Hammon is right above Reeve in second place with a compensation of $1 million. Coming back to Reeve, she’s currently making headlines as the HC of the national team heading to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

But before that, Reeve’s coaching excellence will be assessed on July 20th, this Sunday, when Team USA will face off against the 2024 WNBA All-Star team. While the USA roster is led by six-time all-star A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, the All-Star team will be featuring Caitlin Clark teaming up with Angel Reese. What do you think? Will Reeve’s USA roster be able to meet her expectations? Only time will tell.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.