From Minnesota to Paris, Reeve bringing good vibes
“We've done no work on chemistry and our chemistry is through the roof,” coach Cheryl Reeve said before her Minnesota Lynx beat the two-time defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. Now in her 15th year as coach of the Lynx, Reeve will coach Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
PHOTO: Kaylie Phillips/Jades Media
By W.G. RAMIREZ
LAS VEGAS -- There was something noticeably different about Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve during training camp in May.
"I walked around (and a local reporter) said you're noticeably not as cranky," Reeve said Tuesday, grinning ear-to-ear before her Western Conference-leading Lynx defeated the Las Vegas Aces, 100-86. "(I'm having) a lot of fun. I feel blessed. I try not to talk too much about it because I don't want it to go away.
"I don't want to jinx it in any way."
Understandable, for someone whose team's built-in chemistry has kept things fluid through the first quarter of the season. Or for someone whose veteran-laden squad made a statement as the team to beat in the Western Conference with a dominating performance against the champs. Or for someone who recently passed Bill Laimbeer on the all-time winningest list for coaches and is currently sitting second at 309-173. Or for someone whose team is in the driver's seat to represent the West in the Commissioner's Cup championship.
Oh, and for someone who is gearing up to coach one of the greatest-ever U.S. Olympic teams this summer in Paris.
Needless to say, Reeve's appreciation upon waking up daily is on another level in her 15th season as coach of the Lynx.
"The older you get, that's how we get, right?" the three-time WNBA Coach of the Year said. "Whether it's things that you had in the past that maybe don't exist today - that's anything - could be in players, could be in the way the game was played, could be the changes, rules changes, etc.
"But then also have an appreciation for the challenges that we had in the beginning of my career, and you think about the evolution and the game. The game obviously itself on the court, but then also the evolution of women in sports. So, that, I definitely am probably a little more aware of, and the changes. I think in terms of that focus, I think that's what I think about that's been most impactful."
GIVING GRACE
Reeve has been part of 19 playoff teams, including trips to 10 WNBA Finals with six championship teams to her credit as either an assistant or head coach.
She has led Minnesota to 12 playoff appearances and was also named WNBA's 2019 Basketball Executive of the Year after taking over as general manager in 2017.
And, while her list of accolades runs deep, Reeve said it’s been difficult to find the appreciation in her impact on the sport because she's always stayed task-oriented and looked at things on a much smaller scale to keep things in perspective.
Minnesota Lynx veteran guard Kayla McBride credited coach Cheryl Reeve with helping bring mental clarity since she began playing for her in 2021.
PHOTO: Kaylie Phillips/Jades Media
Per Reeve, she’s just never felt the ability to take a moment and look up to calculate what she's meant to women's basketball.
"I think that when you're in it, you just give everything you have into your daily (life)," Reeve said. "There's always something that you're working on. Always in terms of working with your staff, to grow your staff and empower them. So, for me, that's just a space that's hard to go into."
Which is fine, since her players have no problem singing her praises and giving her the grace she deserves.
"I've really grown so much as a player and a person, playing with her and being around her and her organization, what she's built, the great people that she's put around her," Kayla McBride said before Tuesday's game. "She's just one-to-one for me. She came at a very pivotal point in my career. And I've just continued to grow from there. So, I owe a lot of that to her."
Including from a mental standpoint, added McBride, who has been upfront about her courageous battle with mental health issues since her self-penned article "It’s O.K. to Fall Apart" appeared in The Players Tribune in 2020.
Since then, McBride has become one of the league's biggest advocates speaking out about mental health while also providing outreach. She credited Reeve's caring and understanding nature toward her growth both on and off the court since arriving in Minnesota in 2021.
"She was always very understanding," McBride said. "I've had conversations with her about my mental health, one-on-one, whether it's a text or voice message, very open about it. And so, I really appreciate her just on all aspects."
Reeve's impact has also been felt by her younger players, easing their transition from college to the pro ranks, by simply getting to know them to understand their nuances, what makes them tick, and how to bring out the best in them.
"It's been amazing and just to kind of see like all the knowledge that she holds," rookie Alissa Pili said. "And not only that but just the kind of person she is. She wants everybody to do great and I felt as a rookie it's not really common for everything to be easy. I just come in every day, and she's just been a great outlet for me to talk to when she could tell I'm having a hard time.
'"She knows it's hard and I think she gives me grace in that sense. So, I think that's what makes her such a great coach."
BONJOUR MADAME REEVE
Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson (22) and Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier (24) will both play for coach Cheryl Reeve as part of the U.S. Women’s National Team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
PHOTO: Kaylie Phillips/Jades Media
"She's really in tune with getting the details of who you are as a person and seeing how she can make you better ... because she realizes that that affects who you are on the court as well," said Lynx leading scorer Napheesa Collier, who is averaging a double-double with 20.8 points and 10.9 rebounds. "She really gets to know our personalities and it's why you act a certain way on the court or why you are the player that you are. Getting to know you in that way off the court allows you to coach you better on the court, so I think she does a really good job of that."
Strong attributes about someone who will certainly need to blend the personalities of 12 of the greatest women's basketball players in the world when they head to Paris for the 2024 Olympics.
With the team officially announced Tuesday, the U.S. Women's National Team is expected to win gold for an eighth consecutive Olympiad.
Considering the narratives surrounding this year's final roster, Reeve has taken the selection process in stride and was impressed with how well the committee built this year's squad.
"That was the first time we got together for this squad and just every camp, every competition, the work and the time and the hours and the energy and the thought that they put into this, I really appreciate all of their work," said Reeve, who was announced by USA Basketball as head coach on Dec. 8, 2021 in time for the 2022 FIBA Women's World Cup. "Every camp and competition that we had different players in the pool. And one of the things that we always tried to make sure that everyone knew is that no matter how those turned out, they would be a part of the journey, whether they were part of the final 12 or not.
"And so, I have a great appreciation, a tremendous appreciation, for all who participated and believed and committed to USA Basketball. There's something really special about that, and my heart goes out to those that were not a part of the final 12."
That, presumably, includes Caitlin Clark, who many fans and critics believed should have been a part of the team to draw even more attention to the sport globally.
The outcry has been deafening since the roster was leaked last week, but Reeve saw firsthand a rigorous process that began in February of 2022, and that the committee employed to present a team that can fulfill the ultimate goal.
"Every time you can make any number of cases for the players that were in the pool," Reeve said. "I don't envy the committee to have to reach final decisions and choose this player over that player or those players. But I think the staying steadfast to the process and the criteria, that they were hyper-focused on that. And for me, there's always gonna be discourse - always. And we just try to do the best that we can with the information that we have.
"We're all in it for one thing, and that's to win a gold medal."
