Cheryl Reeve makes bold Napheesa Collier statement amid Olivia Miles success
Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve became the winningest coach in WNBA history with her 380th regular-season win over Connecticut on Wednesday, July 8.
Reeve has been the Lynx’s head coach since 2010. In that time, Minnesota has won four WNBA titles, and Reeve has won the WNBA Coach of the Year four times. Suffice to say Reeve, a recent Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, has been wildly successful over the past 16 years. But this season is arguably her best coaching job yet.
Entering Sunday night’s action, the Lynx (17-6) were tied with the defending champion Las Vegas Aces (17-6) for the best record in the WNBA. They’ve done that without All-Star forward Napheesa Collier, the face of the franchise, as she’s still recovering from two offseason ankle surgeries.
The reason, at least in part, has been the instant emergence of Olivia Miles as a star — and, more importantly, a point guard seemingly designed in a lab for Reeve’s system. The Lynx drafted Miles at No. 2 overall in April, and she leads the team in scoring (18.7 points per game) and assists (5.6 per game).
Reeve set the record straight about Collier, however.
“It’s still Phee’s team,” Reeve said, per ESPN’s Myron Medcalf. “There is not anybody that walks into the gym that doesn’t know that it’s still Phee’s team. What’s great is [Courtney Williams] and [Kayla McBride], they’re very happy to declare that it’s Phee’s team.”
Reeve also disclosed that Collier is “getting really close” to making her 2026 debut.
The Lynx have five games remaining before the All-Star break, running from July 23 to July 27 but it may make more sense to wait until after the All-Star break to ease Collier back into the lineup without interruption. The 2026 WNBA All-Star Game is scheduled for July 25 at the United Center in Chicago. See the full 2026 All-Star Weekend schedule here.
