NEW YORK – Minnesota Lynx Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations Cheryl Reeve has been named the 2026 WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year, the WNBA announced today.

Reeve, who also won the award in 2019 and 2024, joins Atlanta Dream Executive Vice President and General Manager Dan Padover with a record three selections. She recently earned her record fifth State Street Investment Management SPY WNBA Coach of the Year Award, becoming the first person to win Executive of the Year and Coach of the Year in the same season twice (2024 and 2026). Current Dallas Wings General Manager Curt Miller is the only other person to receive both honors in the same season, doing so with the Connecticut Sun in 2017.

The award was determined by a voting panel composed of one basketball executive from each of the WNBA’s 15 teams. Each voter selected three executives in order of preference and could not vote for themselves. The executive who appeared on the most ballots won the award.

Reeve appeared on 13 ballots, followed by Padover on 11 and Golden State Valkyries General Manager Ohemaa Nyanin on eight. The other executives appearing on ballots were Dallas Wings Executive Vice President and General Manager Curt Miller (five ballots); Portland Fire General Manager Vanja Černivec (four); Monumental Basketball President Michael Winger of the Washington Mystics (three); and Toronto Tempo General Manager Monica Wright Rogers (one).

Under Reeve, who oversees basketball operations and completed her 17th season as head coach, Minnesota posted a 33-11 record and earned the No. 1 seed in the WNBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel. The Lynx set a WNBA record with 18 road wins and recorded a 10-game winning streak from July 11 through Aug. 12, its longest since 2016.

Before the season, Reeve selected guard Olivia Miles with the No. 2 overall pick in the WNBA Draft presented by State Street Investment Management SPY and signed veteran forward Natasha Howard. Miles was the unanimous 2026 Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year and set the league’s rookie record with 790 points. Howard started all 44 games and was voted a starter in the 2026 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game.

Reeve earned WNBA Coach of the Month honors for June and served as an All-Star head coach for the sixth time. On July 8 against the Connecticut Sun, she earned her 380th victory to become the WNBA’s all-time leader in regular-season coaching wins. She ended the regular season with 397 career victories.

Below is the list of recipients of the WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year Award since its inception in 2017.