Minnesota Lynx Coach/GM Cheryl Reeve navigating uncertain WNBA landscape during pandemic

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Dealing with a pandemic is not a page in most playbooks, but it’s an issue that Lynx Head Coach and General Manager Cheryl Reeve is now having to navigate.

“We say this with our season, you don’t look up and look out at the big picture because it can be very overwhelming,” Reeve told FOX 9 about her approach to leading during this time. “Focus on what you can control today.”

The WNBA is one of the many leagues in limbo due to COVID-19.

The draft is coming up three weeks from Friday and the season’s original start date is in mid-May, but at this point many things are still up in the air for the league.

“We’re probably not going to look exactly the same when we get to the other side of this,” Reeve said. “There are going to have to be some concessions made.”

“We have to be ready for what that might be,” Reeve added.

What makes the WNBA unique from other pro leagues is that this is an Olympic year, with this season designed to take a break over the summer.

With the Tokyo games being pushed back to 2021, that means the WNBA will have to evolve even more in 2020.

Making it yet another hurdle for teams like the Lynx to overcome.

“I don’t know when the Olympics will be, but I’m assuming the timing will be similar in the summertime,” Reeve said. “Obviously, once again our season will be impacted.”

“The name of the game in the WNBA has to be nimble,” Reeve added.

Reeve and her team are now working remotely to prepare for the WNBA draft on April 17th, an event she still expects to proceed with changes like a remote broadcast setup.