The WNBA has another award for Cheryl Reeve.
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WNBA → have → Reeve
This one comes from the people who run the teams, and that makes it worth examining what, exactly, they are celebrating.
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they → come → what
The league announced Monday that the Minnesota Lynx head coach and president of basketball operations won Basketball Executive of the Year for the third time, tying the Atlanta Dream's Dan Padover for the most selections in the award's history.
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coach → announce → history
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page → contain → partners
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News → sign → wager
This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom.
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that → create → newsroom
The announcement comes less than two weeks after the top-seeded Lynx were swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the eighth-seeded New York Liberty, who were subsequently swept in the semifinals by the Dream.
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who → come → Dream
Reeve appeared on 13 ballots, ahead of Padover's 11 and Golden State's Ohemaa Nyanin's eight.
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Reeve → appear → 11
Each of the WNBA's 15 teams had an executive on the voting panel, and voters couldn't select themselves.
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voters → have → themselves
That's a substantial endorsement of Reeve from her peers and it also amounts to tacit approval of the way one of the league's most outspoken left-wing figures represents her franchise.
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one → amount → franchise
An executive helps establish what an organization stands for, and Reeve has made her politics a major part of that job.
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politics → help → job
She consistently uses her WNBA platform to attack the motives of people who believe women's sports should be reserved for females.
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sports → use → females
Her colleagues have now chosen to celebrate her leadership.
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colleagues → choose → leadership
That deserves scrutiny beyond a list of successful transactions.
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That → deserve → transactions
Dallas made Reeve's Olivia Miles decision awfully easy
The league's announcement highlighted Reeve's selection of Olivia Miles with the No. 2 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft.
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announcement → make → Draft
Miles went on to become the unanimous Rookie of the Year and set the league's rookie scoring record with 790 points.
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Miles → go → points
But let's remember how Miles became available.
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Miles → let → ?
The Dallas Wings could have (and should have) taken Miles, but elected to draft Paige Bueckers' girlfriend, Azzi Fudd, with the No. 1 pick instead.
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Wings → take → pick
The Wings publicly praised Fudd's shooting.
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Wings → praise → shooting
But pretending that their selection of Fudd was based entirely on her basketball skills is foolish.
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selection → pretend → skills
Miles averaged 19.8 points, 6.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds as a rookie.
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Miles → average → rookie
Fudd averaged 13.1 points, 1.8 assists and 1.7 rebounds.
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Fudd → average → points
Miles produced those numbers while playing slightly fewer minutes per game, shot better from the field and finished second in MVP voting.
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Miles → produce → voting
Reeve should probably send the Wings a thank-you note.
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Reeve → send → note
In April 2024, the Chicago Sky moved from No. 8 to No. 7 and acquired the rights to Nikolina Milić.
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Sky → move → Milić
Minnesota received Sika Koné, a 2025 second-round pick and the right to swap first-round picks with Chicago in 2026, along with the No. 8 selection.
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Minnesota → receive → selection
Chicago used No. 7 on Angel Reese.
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Chicago → use → Reese
At the time of the deal, Minnesota was coming off a 19-21 season and Chicago an 18-22 season.
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Chicago → come → season
In April 2025, Minnesota sent Chicago the No. 11 pick, which the Sky used on Hailey Van Lith, for Chicago's 2026 first-rounder outright.
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Sky → send → rounder
That deal canceled the earlier swap and allowed Minnesota to keep its own 2026 first-round pick, too.
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Minnesota → cancel → pick
Reeve deserves credit for those trades.
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Reeve → deserve → trades
Once Dallas passed on Miles, though, the choice at No. 2 was awfully easy.
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choice → pass → .
Reeve also signed Natasha Howard, who started all 44 games and earned an All-Star starting spot.
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who → sign → spot
Minnesota finished 33-11 and earned the No. 1 playoff seed.
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Minnesota → finish → seed
Dallas did Reeve an enormous favor, and the Lynx benefited.
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Lynx → do → favor
Reeve's team couldn't win a playoff game
For all those advantages, what did the Lynx do in the playoffs?
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Lynx → win → playoffs
Minnesota became the first No. 1 seed in WNBA history to be eliminated by a No. 8 seed, and New York did it in a sweep.
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York → become → sweep
The Lynx had the unanimous Rookie of the Year (who also finished second in MVP voting).
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who → have → voting
And while Napheesa Collier, one of the league’s best players, missed time during the regular season, she played in both playoff games.
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she → miss → games
Minnesota lost both of those games by 16 points, including a 91-75 defeat at home in Game 1.
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Minnesota → lose → Game
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
