In any sport, building a winning team is the goal. Building a dynasty, however, is that much harder. The U.S. women's basketball team has created a dynasty unlike any other, and this year in Paris they will look to win an unprecedented eighth-straight Olympic gold medal. As the team embarks on this journey, they will do so under new leadership, as Cheryl Reeve returns to the Olympics for the first time as the team's head coach.

Learn more about Reeve's history as she prepares to guide U.S. women's basketball to a historic tournament.

Cheryl Reeve is 57 years old and was born September 22, 1966.

Cheryl Reeve was born in Omaha, Nebraska. Born into a military family, Reeve’s family moved around when she was a child before settling in Washington Township in southern New Jersey when she was a teenager.

Cheryl Reeve has served as head coach of the Minnesota Lynx since 2010. After going 13-21 in her first season as head coach, she turned the team around and led them to a WNBA title in 2011, capturing the WNBA Coach of the Year award. In 2017, Reeve took over as the general manager of the Lynx and is currently the longest active coach in the WNBA.

Fear of failure is never something that should drive you. The desire to succeed is what motivates all of us.

Cheryl Reeve served as an assistant coach for the USA Basketball women’s national team starting with the 2014 FIBA World Cup, assisting the team to two World Cup wins and two Olympic medals. She took over the team from Dawn Staley at the end of 2021 and is contracted to coach through the end of 2024.

Cheryl Reeve has won four gold medals so far as an assistant coach for USA Basketball, including two Olympic gold medals (2016, 2020) and two FIBA World Cup titles (2014, 2016). Her first gold medal as the team’s head coach came when she led them to victory at the 2022 FIBA World Cup.

Reeve also has six WNBA titles: four as a head coach (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017) and two as an assistant (2006, 2008). 

USA basketball has had tremendous success for so long. It's not talked about enough. It's the greatest sports dynasty that's not talked about.

Cheryl Reeve has been named the WNBA Coach of the Year three times in her career (2011, 2016, 2020). In 2019, she was named as the WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year after a draft that included Rookie of the Year Napheesa Collier. She was also named the 2022 USA Basketball National Team Coach of the Year.

Cheryl Reeve began as an assistant coach at La Salle University, where she stayed for a master’s degree after graduating as a player. After two years, she became an assistant coach at George Washington University.

Reeve spent 12 years as a collegiate coach before moving to the WNBA. She was an assistant coach for several WNBA teams over the course of nine years, including the Charlotte Sting, the Cleveland Rockers and the Detroit Shock, and took over as general manager and director of personnel of the Shock for several years.

I learned many, many years ago that you're not gonna be able to please everyone, and if you try, you please no one.

Cheryl Reeve played four years of collegiate basketball at La Salle University in Philadelphia. She holds the school record for most games started with 110 and ranks fourth in school history for career assists (420). She also led the team to two NCAA tournaments over the course of her career.

Get to know the other members of the U.S. women's basketball team that are heading to Paris this summer.