NEW YORK, Sept. 28, 2026 – Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve has been named the 2026 State Street Investment Management SPY WNBA Coach of the Year, the WNBA announced today. Reeve earns the honor for a record fifth time, extending her own league record and previously winning the award in 2011, 2016, 2020, and 2024.

Reeve received 40 of 74 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase finished in second place with 20 votes, followed by Washington Mystics head coach Sydney Johnson in third place with 14 votes.

In her 17th season as Minnesota’s head coach, Reeve guided Minnesota to a 33-11 record and the No. 1 seed in the WNBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel. The Lynx continue their pursuit of a record fifth WNBA championship on Tuesday, Sept. 29 when they visit the New York Liberty in Game 2 of their first-round series at 8:30 p.m. ET on USA Network. The Lynx trail in the series 1-0.

After a 2-2 start, Minnesota won 20 of its next 24 games to enter the All-Star break at 22-6. Reeve earned WNBA Coach of the Month honors for June and was selected to serve as an All-Star head coach for the sixth time at the 2026 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game in Chicago in July. The Lynx carried that momentum into the second half, winning nine of their first 10 games after the All-Star break.

Reeve also reached a historic milestone on July 8 against the Connecticut Sun, becoming the WNBA’s all-time leader in regular-season coaching wins with her 380th victory. She finished the regular season with 397 career regular-season wins.

Below are the voting results for the 2026 State Street Investment Management SPY WNBA Coach of the Year Award and a list of past recipients.

VOTING RESULTS: 2026 STATE STREET INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SPY WNBA COACH OF THE YEAR

Coach (Team)
Votes

Cheryl Reeve (Minnesota)
40

Natalie Nakase (Golden State)
20

Sydney Johnson (Washington)
14

STATE STREET INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SPY WNBA COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS

1997 – Van Chancellor, Houston

1998 – Van Chancellor, Houston

1999 – Van Chancellor, Houston

2000 – Michael Cooper, Los Angeles

2001 – Dan Hughes, Cleveland

2002 – Marianne Stanley, Washington

2003 – Bill Laimbeer, Detroit

2004 – Suzie McConnell-Serio, Minnesota

2005 – John Whisenant, Sacramento

2006 – Mike Thibault, Connecticut

2007 – Dan Hughes, San Antonio

2008 – Mike Thibault, Connecticut

2009 – Marynell Meadors, Atlanta

2010 – Brian Agler, Seattle

2011 – Cheryl Reeve, Minnesota

2012 – Carol Ross, Los Angeles

2013 – Mike Thibault, Washington

2014 – Sandy Brondello, Phoenix

2015 – Bill Laimbeer, New York

2016 – Cheryl Reeve, Minnesota

2017 – Curt Miller, Connecticut

2018 – Nicki Collen, Atlanta

2019 – James Wade, Chicago

2020 – Cheryl Reeve, Minnesota

2021 – Curt Miller, Connecticut

2022 – Becky Hammon, Las Vegas

2023 – Stephanie White, Connecticut

2024 – Cheryl Reeve, Minnesota

2025 – Natalie Nakase, Golden State

2026 – Cheryl Reeve, Minnesota

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