Cheryl Reeve Wins Executive of the Year Award

The WNBA announced on Monday that Cheryl Reeve, head coach and president of basketball operations for the Minnesota Lynx, has won the Executive of the Year award for the third time. This ties her with Dan Padover of the Atlanta Dream for the most selections in the award's history.

The announcement came less than two weeks after the top-seeded Lynx were swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the eighth-seeded New York Liberty. The Liberty were subsequently swept in the semifinals by the Dream.

Reeve received 13 votes on the ballot, ahead of Padover's 11 and Ohemaa Nyanin's eight. Each of the WNBA's 15 teams had an executive on the voting panel, and voters could not select themselves.

Reeve's selection of Olivia Miles with the No. 2 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft was highlighted in the league's announcement. Miles went on to become the unanimous Rookie of the Year and set the league's rookie scoring record with 790 points.

Dallas made Reeve's decision to select Miles awfully easy. The Wings could have taken Miles with the No. 1 pick but instead chose to draft Azzi Fudd, the girlfriend of Paige Bueckers. Fudd averaged 13.1 points, 1.8 assists, and 1.7 rebounds, while Miles averaged 19.8 points, 6.0 assists, and 4.7 rebounds.

Reeve also secured trades with Chicago, acquiring Nikolina Milić and the right to swap first-round picks in 2026. Minnesota finished 33-11 and earned the No. 1 playoff seed, benefiting from Dallas' decision to pass on Miles.

Despite these advantages, the Lynx were swept by the New York Liberty in the first round of the playoffs. Minnesota became the first No. 1 seed in WNBA history to be eliminated by an eighth-seeded team. The Lynx lost both games by 16 points, including a 91-75 home defeat.

Reeve's four championships are part of her record, but in the nine seasons since her last title in 2017, Minnesota has reached the Finals only once, losing to New York in 2024. During that span, Reeve has collected three Coach of the Year awards and all three of her Executive of the Year awards.