Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve has been named the WNBA Coach of the Year for a record fifth time, the league announced Monday. Reeve received 40 of 74 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters, edging out Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase, who finished second with 20 votes.
The award comes after Reeve guided the Lynx to the WNBA's best regular-season record at 33-11, despite an extended absence from star forward Napheesa Collier. Minnesota finished one game ahead of Golden State in the standings. Reeve's previous Coach of the Year honors came in 2024, when the Lynx finished second, and she is the first coach of the No. 1 seed to win the award since Becky Hammon in 2022.
However, Reeve's victory has reignited debate over her outspoken political activism, particularly her advocacy for transgender inclusion in women's sports. Earlier this season, Reeve wore a «Trans Kids Belong» shirt during a game against the Indiana Fever, drawing both praise and criticism. After Thursday's regular-season finale, she addressed the controversy, saying, «They don't want transgender people to exist.»
Reeve's comments have been criticized as a straw man argument that conflates disagreement over sports policy with hatred. The underlying dispute centers on whether male athletes should compete in girls' and women's sports and have access to female locker rooms. Reeve, however, framed the issue as a matter of life and death for the transgender community, stating, «for the transgender community this really is about life and death for them.»
She also described the response to her advocacy, noting that parents of transgender children had thanked her for her gesture. «With the platform that we have in professional sports, it was a small gesture by me, it's something I believe in obviously wholeheartedly,» Reeve said. «If I could have helped just one to feel differently about themselves... it helped their child think differently about themselves and that there is someone in our position like we have as a leader.»
Critics argue that Reeve's position avoids the core question of whether biological males should compete in female sports, instead accusing opponents of wanting transgender people erased. They point out that Reeve coaches in a league that exists precisely because of a separate category for female athletes, and that maintaining boundaries does not equate to hatred.
The award voting itself has also raised eyebrows. Last season, Reeve received just two Coach of the Year votes despite leading the Lynx to a 34-10 record, four games ahead of second-seeded Las Vegas. This season, Minnesota won one fewer game and finished only one game ahead of Golden State. Some observers suggest that Reeve's politics may have influenced voters in the largely left-wing women's basketball media, though her team's success provided a legitimate basketball case.
Reeve's win adds another chapter to her storied career, but it also ensures that the conversation around her activism will continue. As the WNBA playoffs begin, the focus will shift to the court, but the debate over Reeve's comments and the broader issue of transgender inclusion in sports shows no signs of fading.