South Jersey’s Cheryl Reeve is atop the WNBA yet again, helped by a rookie sensation with Philly ties
Adding sensational rookie point guard Olivia Miles — who played for the AAU’s Philadelphia Belles — to a veteran core has powered this year’s success.
WASHINGTON — When Cheryl Reeve’s Minnesota Lynx finished inches short of a WNBA title two years ago, the presumption was they’d be right back in the Finals a season later.
The Lynx did the job in the regular season, finishing first by a dominant four games. But they only made it as far as the semifinals, bowing out soon after star Napheesa Collier suffered a major injury in the series.
Now Minnesota is at it again: The first team in the league to reach 30 wins, five games clear of the field, a playoff berth clinched earlier this month — with a quarter of the season to go.
So will this be the year the Lynx finally reach the top, and deliver Reeve a record-breaking fifth WNBA title? She’s currently tied at the top with Houston Comets legend Van Chancellor, who won four straight from 1997 to 2000. Reeve’s came in 2011, ’13, ’15, and ’17.
If it happens, Reeve is pretty sure she’ll know why. Though the final verdict isn’t in on whether this team is better than the last two, the Sewell, N.J., native and La Salle product can tell why it’s different.
“Kayla McBride being an All-WNBA player, I think, is a big, big reason for our success,” she said of the guard from Erie, Pa., who’s having a stellar year: 18.3 points per game, including a 43-point explosion against against Dallas on Aug. 9.
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“Napheesa Collier back in the fold and feeling great by the time we get to [the] playoffs,” Reeve said of the five-time All-Star and three-time first-team All-WNBA honoree and a prolific scorer and rebounder who can also pass well.
“We have a group that never gets rattled and finds a way to compete, and they know exactly what they need to do,” Reeve said. “And we’ve got veterans, like obviously now Collier back in the fold, McBride and Courtney [Williams] who just know really, really well what we’re looking for them to do. Resilience, I think, is what I find with our team.”
But Reeve’s description of a younger player felt just as profound.
“The rookie sensation,” she said, and she did not have to add Olivia Miles’ name for everyone listening to know. The point guard from Phillipsburg, N.J., who played AAU ball for the Philadelphia Belles, has turned out to be every bit as good as the sport hoped for in her first season as a pro, after starring at Notre Dame and TCU.
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“That position is one that’s just — it’s incredible when you have someone that can manage the game for you at such a young age,” Reeve said, “and she’s really super mature.”
The WNBA’s stars — Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers, and Collier — garner a lot of the attention. Miles is becoming just as much of a must-watch among hoopheads for her dynamic mix of passing, scoring, and tenacious defense.
The 23-year-old was at it again Friday in a 94-84 win over the Washington Mystics: 24 points, seven assists, three steals, and three rebounds.
“Each game, we’re presented with something new that she accomplished,” Reeve said. “And we’re not talking about rookie accolades. We’re talking about, like, all-time in the history of the league type numbers: she’s the fastest player in WNBA history to 700-plus points and 200-plus assists.”
Miles returned the praise in her own charismatic style.
“I knew I was coming into something that was established, and standards existed, and she wasn’t going to take it easy — especially on point guards,” she said. “Actually being in it now, it’s definitely like that. She’s definitely hard on me.”
Then came the warmth.
“She gives me a lot of grace knowing that I’m a rookie, and I’m learning, and it’s the hardest position,” Miles said. “And I’ve needed that grace, and I appreciate that from her. … That’s the most important thing for me, knowing where it comes from, her intention, knowing that she ultimately just wants the best for me and wants me to be great.”
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Reeve put a lot of focus on how quickly Miles built chemistry with the veterans.
“It was open arms from the from Day 1 that she walked into our practice facility,” Reeve said. “Literally, the first day they watched her make passes, they were oohing and aahing and hyping her up. And by two weeks in, we gave her the job, handed her the keys, and they have loved every second of it.”
She also praised how the vets have helped Miles learn the ropes of the pros.
“They remember being rookies,” Reeve said. “Again, ‘Liv’ is mature, but also, this is a hard league. I think Liv at times appears unfazed, but we see when she has her moments, and it is those veterans that are helping her through that.”
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Putting everything together, Reeve said though this year’s team might not have the depth of the last two, “we probably have more talent now than we did in the starting five.”
The end product is the second-highest scoring offense in the league at 92.2 points per game, the third-best scoring defense at 83.4 points allowed per game, and the No. 1 points differential at plus-8.8.
“If we get it done,” Reeve said of possibly winning a title, “it’s because we had five starters that were that were playing to their best.”
This season is her 17th in charge of the Lynx, her 22nd as a head coach overall, and the 38th of a career that has had eight stops across college and pro teams, plus the 2024 Olympic cycle as the U.S. women’s head coach and the two cycles before then as an assistant.
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Much has changed over those years in women’s basketball. But Reeve made it clear that she still has as much passion as ever for the game and her work.
“I think the game gives me so much joy,” she said. “The people that you’re in it with, the competitive — just, the feeling you get when that ball is about to be tipped and what’s about to happen. That’s just something that’s sort of innate to those of us that do it for a really long time.”
