Lynx take 2 WNBA awards
MINNEAPOLIS — Cheryl Reeve smiled as she sat in a chair on the stage with Olivia Miles to her left, as the Minnesota Lynx were presented with two major awards.
Reeve’s record fifth WNBA Coach of the Year trophy, she said, would not have materialized without Miles and her performance at point guard this season that made her an unanimous selection for Rookie of the Year.
“What I was reminded of with Liv is the importance of letting greatness be great,” Reeve said, “and not getting in the way.”
Miles received all 74 votes for the award from a national panel of sports writers and broadcasters covering the league, after she set the WNBA rookie scoring record. The second pick in the draft out of TCU played in 40 of 44 games and averaged 19.8 points, 6.0 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals while shooting 49.2% from the field, 38.8% from 3-point range and 87% from the free-throw line.
Reeve, who is in her 17th season as head coach of the Lynx and fourth as president of basketball operations, was sold on Miles and her curiosity and humility during the pre-draft interview process and was pleasantly surprised by how quickly she became comfortable on the court. The coach and the player realized they see the game through a similar lens, thanks to Reeve’s degree from La Salle in computer science and the mindset Miles shares with her father, Yakubu, a software engineer.
“It was important for me to have someone who was humble,” said Reeve, who guided the Lynx to WNBA titles in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017. “I think a lot of players come in feeling like they know and they don’t need to be told or have others around them to guide them.”
Miles became the sixth winner of the award in Lynx history, following Betty Lennox (2000), Seimone Augustus (2006), Maya Moore (2011), Napheesa Collier (2019) and Crystal Dangerfield (2020).
Just like Reeve became a better coach with her on the floor, Miles found the ideal place to land in the league with a core of welcoming veterans on and off the court in Collier, Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams and an accomplished coach in Reeve with such high standards.
“I truly think that her method to her madness, what she refers to it as, will lead to success if we trust in it,” Miles said. “I knew it was going to be hard. I didn’t know it was going to be this hard. I didn’t think I’d have the opportunity I’d have right away, so I kind of just took that and ran with it. She’s given me a lot of grace as well.”
Reeve, who received 40 of 74 votes from media panel, previously won the award in 2011, 2016, 2020 and 2024. She became the WNBA’s all-time leader in regular-season coaching wins this year. Golden State’s Natalie Nakase, who won the award last year, finished second with 20 votes. Washington’s Sydney Johnson was third with 14 votes.
Miles, a native of New Jersey who started her college career at Notre Dame, led all rookies in points, points per game, field goals made, defensive rebounds, assists, assists per game and efficiency rating.
The WNBA announced the awards on Monday, before the Lynx traveled to New York for an elimination game in their best-of-three first-round playoff series on Tuesday. The top-seeded Lynx lost the opener at home 91-75 to the 2024 champion Liberty on Sunday, when Miles had just 11 points on 3-for-12 shooting with four turnovers and four fouls in her postseason debut.
Even for one of the most precocious rookies to join the league lately, the playoffs are another level of competition.
“I think she’s feeling it right now, but it’s what we expected and it’s not easy,” Reeve said. “She’s a smart player, and she’ll figure it out.”
