UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- Cheryl Reeve's Minnesota Lynx didn't make things easy Wednesday evening at Mohegan Sun Arena, needing a strong fourth quarter to take care of the last-place Connecticut Sun 86-80 and end a two-game losing streak.
On a normal night, Reeve might have been frustrated that, for much of the game, her team didn't play up to its usual standard. Instead, the lasting memories will be of Reeve being showered with gold confetti in the locker room, the coach dancing alongside players to "Yeah!" by Usher and cheers of "Cher-yl, Cher-yl" ringing through the halls.
Wednesday's win was Reeve's 380th regular-season victory, making her the winningest head coach in WNBA history. The record was previously held by former Sun and Washington Mystics coach Mike Thibault.
"I appreciate it immensely," Reeve said postgame, a glass of champagne in tow. "I just wanted to win the game. I just don't think this way. I appreciate how much it meant to the players to celebrate the moment. ... So many people that have been on this journey with me for so long, even the new ones, to share it with them was incredibly meaningful."
In an era when so much in the WNBA is defined by change, Reeve has been the hallmark of consistency. She is the longest continuously tenured coach in WNBA history, having been hired in Minnesota in 2010 following stints as an assistant in Charlotte, Cleveland and Detroit -- the latter where she was part of two championship-winning staffs.
But her legacy goes far beyond longevity. She guided the Lynx to WNBA titles in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017, as well as Finals appearances in 2012, 2016 and 2024. Before Wednesday, she already boasted the most total wins including postseason play of any coach in league history with 430. Her career winning percentage (.660) is behind only that of Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon (.729).
"It's surreal," said Lynx guard Kayla McBride, who credits Reeve for changing the trajectory of her career. "Just the standard of excellence, it's like a lost art almost in our league, and to be one of the coaches that has been around for so long in one franchise says a lot. I'm just super excited and happy and proud of her."
The respect Reeve has earned around the league was never in doubt, either.
"Cheryl was someone I thought a lot about in my offseason, because she would bring out the worst of my game and the things that I was not good at," two-time MVP Elena Delle Donne said of Reeve at their Women's Basketball Hall of Fame induction last month. "She does not let you do the things you're good at, she would make you do the next level and bring out all your weaknesses."
Added fellow inductee and MVP Candace Parker: "Cheryl made [opposing players] better. ... You could see the strategy of what she did to raise our level of play. It was chess, and I'm grateful for the battles that we had."
The wins record, in truth, was the last thing on Reeve's mind over the past week. The Lynx hit a rough patch when they dropped back-to-back games against New York and Connecticut, their usually tout defense giving up 90 points in both matchups.
Beyond that, the recent fanfare surrounding the record and her WBHOF induction has been "a bit overwhelming," Reeve acknowledged Wednesday. "I'm so glad this is over," she quipped on the broadcast postgame, although she later added it has given her a rare opportunity to reflect on her career and her legacy.
"It feels like yesterday it was 2010 and we were trying to be a successful team," she said. "It really starts to hit you when you really start to go through each year. I don't know -- you never dream it's going to happen. I set out to just try to take it day by day and win games.
"What I feel is an overwhelming sense of feeling blessed for all the people that let me be me, believed in what we were doing and found a way to be successful, no matter what."
Reeve -- who also led USA Basketball to an Olympic gold medal in 2024 -- has coached some of the best to ever play the game, headlined by a legendary core of Maya Moore, Sylvia Fowles, Seimone Augustus, Lindsay Whalen and Rebekkah Brunson.
"She is great at goal setting. I never won a championship until I played for Cheryl," said Whalen, now one of her Lynx assistant coaches. "She enjoys the day to day, she makes every aspect of being on a team fun. She has a great balance of knowing when she can needle you a little bit, and when you need to be pushed outside your comfort zone."
Even after the championship window in the 2010s closed, Reeve never took her foot off the gas. The Lynx have missed the playoffs only once since their first title -- in 2022, when perennial MVP contender Napheesa Collier sat out most of the season because of pregnancy and childbirth.
And 2026 might be one of Reeve's most impressive coaching jobs yet. Few outsiders expected much from Minnesota after it didn't land any big-name free agents and lost several key players in the offseason. But at 16-6, Reeve has her team atop the league standings, with rookie sensation Olivia Miles exceeding expectations and Collier returning soon from injury.
Though perhaps it was fitting that Reeve -- always one to squeeze the most out of a group of players -- earned the record without both Collier and Miles (calf) but with meaningful contributions from lesser-known figures such as Antonia Delaere (10 points), Dorka Juhasz (12) and Anastasiia Olairi Kosu (team-best plus-11 in plus/minus), sparking a 26-15 fourth quarter to clinch it.
Reeve rejects the notion this team has a chip on its shoulder as the Lynx look to get back on top, which would secure her a league-record fifth WNBA title. Instead, she says, this group has tremendous belief -- and Reeve's endless pursuit of excellence continuing to fuel the players.
"We try to bring them along and help them believe in themselves and see things in them that maybe they don't see just yet," Reeve said. "We'd like to be in position at the end to have something to say about [winning it all]. We have a long way to go to get there."
ESPN's Michael Voepel contributed to this report.