Cheryl Reeve of Minnesota Lynx wins record fifth WNBA Coach of the Year

Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve is the 2026 WNBA Coach of the Year for a record fifth time. On Monday, Sept. 28, the league announced that Reeve had won the award once again. Reeve's win extends her own league record after she previously won it in 2011, 2016, 2020, and 2024. This year is the

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Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve is the 2026 WNBA Coach of the Year for a record fifth time.

On Monday, Sept. 28, the league announced that Reeve had won the award once again. Reeve's win extends her own league record after she previously won it in 2011, 2016, 2020, and 2024.

This year is the Minnesota coach's 17th season leading the Lynx, and she capped it off by finishing with a league-best 33-11 record and capturing the No. 1 seed in the WNBA playoffs.

Reeve's son surprised her with the news and presented her with the trophy at a recent practice.

such a sweet moment. 🥹

Cheryl’s son broke the news and surprised her with the coach of the year trophy. pic.twitter.com/8P3sCBeUHs
— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) September 28, 2026

Minnesota opened its season with a 2-2 start, but won 20 of its next

24 games.

The Lynx played most of the first three months of the season without former Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier, who didn't make her season debut until July 22 as she recovered from offseason surgery. During Collier's absence, No. 2 overall pick Olivia Miles — who was named Rookie of the Year on Monday morning — stepped up and powered the Lynx. Miles was the unanimous Rookie of the Year after averaging 19.8 points and 6.1 assists per game.

In June, Reeve walked away with WNBA Coach of the Month honors for a 9-2 record in the month. Following that honor, she also served as head coach for the 2026 All-Star Game in July for the sixth time in her career. In July, the Lynx coach also became the WNBA's all-time leader in regular-season wins when she secured her 380th victory on July 8 against the Connecticut Sun.

Reeve finished the season with 397 career regular-season wins. After the All-Star break, Minnesota won nine of its next 10 games before finishing the season at 33-11.

For the league's coach of the year award, Reeve received 40 of the 74 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase finished in second place with 20 votes and Washington Mystics head coach Sydney Johnson came in third place with 14 votes. Despite leading the Dallas Wings to a franchise record 27 wins in his first season, Jose Fernandez did not place inside the top three for voting.

Reeve and the Lynx continue their pursuit of a fifth franchise WNBA championship on Tuesday, Sept. 29, when they visit the New York Liberty in Game 2 of their first-round series in the WNBA Playoffs (8:30 p.m. ET, USA Network). Minnesota trails 1-0 to New York.