Cheryl Reeve Beats Mike Thibault as WNBA’s Winningest Coach

Surpassing the Thibault Benchmark

The path to the record was finalized on Wednesday night, when the Lynx defeated the Connecticut Sun to move to 16-6 on the season. According to Bleacherreport, the win pushed Reeve to 380 career victories, officially moving her past Mike Thibault, the former head coach of the Sun and the Washington Mystics. Thibault had held the title of winningest coach since the 2013 season, as reported by Yahoo Sports.

Reeve, 59, has served as the Lynx head coach since 2010. During her 17-year tenure, she has guided the franchise to four WNBA championships, with her most recent title coming in 2017. Her success has not been limited to the regular season; she also holds the record for the most playoff wins in WNBA history. Following the milestone, Reeve expressed a sense of relief regarding the pursuit of the record: “I’m so glad this is over,” she said on the postgame broadcast, as noted by The Athletic.

Strategic Adaptation Through Roster Turnover

Reeve’s ability to sustain success has drawn praise from players and peers alike. Her 2026 campaign is particularly notable given that the team faced significant roster turnover, including the departure of key players like Alanna Smith and Jessica Shepard, and the absence of star Napheesa Collier, who has been sidelined following surgery.

To compensate, Reeve relied on her veteran core and strategic acquisitions. She re-signed Courtney Williams and Kayla McBride, while adding Natasha Howard and Nia Coffey to two-year deals. McBride’s performance was instrumental in the record-breaking win, as she led all scorers with 23 points. Olivia Miles, the No. 2 pick in the 2026 draft acquired via a trade with the Chicago Sky, has also been a key part of the team’s depth.

“She is just brilliant in what she does,” Miles said of Reeve. “She understands how to use players to their strengths. You see (Howard) playing out of her mind. Everyone thought she was done. She’s playing some of her best basketball of her career. It’s things like that that Cheryl sees in players and allows people to raise to their full potential.”

Intertwined Coaching Legacies

The transition of the record from Mike Thibault to Reeve carries a personal dimension, as the two have shared a long history of professional respect. Reeve acknowledged Thibault’s influence on her own career, noting, “I learned a lot from Mike through the years. Tremendous coach. So much respect that we’ve had for each other through the years. I know he’s happy for me. And somebody’s going to pass me and I’ll be happy for them, too.”

The connections extend to the coaching staff as well. Reeve’s current staff includes Rebekkah Brunson and Lindsay Whalen, both of whom were integral to the Lynx dynasty during the 2010s. Eric Thibault, Mike Thibault’s son, also joined the staff last year, further intertwining the two coaching trees. Mike Thibault acknowledged the bittersweet nature of the moment: Lindsay’s responsible for a whole bunch of my wins and my son’s been part of a bunch of them, too. I’ve been giving him crap about helping her break my record.

Chasing a Fifth Franchise Title

With the record now behind her, Reeve’s focus shifts to the remainder of the 2026 season. The Lynx currently lead the WNBA standings with a 16-6 record and boast the league’s best net rating at 11.8. While Reeve has secured her place in the history books, her peers remain far behind in the career wins category; the closest active coach is the Toronto Tempo’s Sandy Brondello with 269 wins.

Reeve, who holds the dual roles of head coach and president of basketball operations, has indicated no plans to retire. Her immediate goal is to leverage the team’s current momentum to secure her fifth championship. Having missed the playoffs only twice in her tenure—in her inaugural 2010 season and in 2022—Reeve is now looking to guide the current roster toward the top seed, a position the Lynx have held in each of the last two seasons.

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