Coach Cheryl Reeve signed a five-year contract extension to lead the Lynx, and got a promotion from general manager to president of basketball operations Thursday.
Monetary terms of the deal were not disclosed. The contract is the longest Reeve, entering her 14th season, has had in Minnesota.
"It'll be 18 years with one franchise," said Reeve, who has coached the team to four WNBA titles. "We had this opportunity, we're doing things the way I hoped."
The 2019 WNBA Executive of the Year, Reeve has won 281 regular season games in 13 seasons. She is one of just two coaches to win more than 65% of their games (Van Chancellor, who coached the defunct Houston Comets in the league's early years, is the other).
"Longevity, loyalty [is] the center of who I am and who I want to be and who I want to surround myself with," said Reeve, 56.
Also the coach of Team USA women's national team in 2021, she recently led that team to a gold medal in the World Cup in Australia and will serve as head coach in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Reeve's task with the Lynx next season will be getting the team back in the WNBA playoffs after not qualifying in 2022, breaking an 11-year streak. The Lynx will be one of four teams — Indiana, Atlanta and Washington are the others — who will take part in the WNBA draft lottery Nov. 11.
The Lynx have the fourth-best chance at the top pick in the lottery, with 104 chances out of 1,000.
"I'm energized by a team we can put together to be back in contention," Reeve said. "I'll make it clear — this isn't about fielding a decent team. That's not how we do things. Expectations are high."
