Cheryl Reeve is now the winningest coach in WNBA history, and her presence is more important than ever
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- Cheryl Reeve earned her 380th career WNBA head coaching win on Wednesday, surpassing Mike Thibault's record when the Minnesota Lynx beat the Connecticut Sun 86-80 on the road.
- Reeve was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame on June 27 and tied Thibault at 379 wins the following day, then sat on the milestone for nearly two weeks through a first two-game losing streak of the season.
- Only four active WNBA head coaches have won more than 100 games — Reeve (380), Sandy Brondello (280), Becky Hammon (132) and Stephanie White (129) — while 10 of the 11 other bench bosses are in their first or second year leading a WNBA team.
- Reeve's Hall of Fame speech recalled driving to Moody Bible College in Chicago in 2001 for a WNBA combine, where Anne Donovan offered her a $5,000 assistant coaching salary with the Charlotte Sting.
- Reeve publicly credited the WNBA for letting her be openly LGBTQ+, recalling she had to stay closeted during her first 12 years in collegiate coaching because her sexuality would be weaponized in recruiting.
- The Alyssa Thomas-Caitlin Clark incident on June 24 — retroactively upgraded to a Flagrant 2 with a one-game suspension for Thomas — overshadowed Reeve's milestone week, but the source frames Reeve's gravitas as a needed anchor during the controversy.
Why it matters: Reeve's milestone arrives as 10 of the other 13 WNBA head coaches are in their first or second year, leaving the winningest coach in league history as one of the few figures left with deep institutional knowledge. With the league drawing record audiences and new ownership amid a polarizing national spotlight, her willingness to speak on social issues, player safety, and Pride gives the WNBA a steady voice at exactly the moment it most needs one.
