Every coach needs that first break, someone to open the door for them and give them a chance to prove they can handle the job at the highest level.
For Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, that someone was Anne Donovan.
Donovan, who won Olympic gold as both a player and coach and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995, died of heart failure Wednesday at age 56.
She gave Reeve her first WNBA assistant coaching job in Charlotte.
"You just sit there for a second, like this is surreal," Reeve told reporters of her reaction upon hearing the news. "Anne is the reason I'm coaching in the WNBA. She gave me my first opportunity."
As much as anyone in coaching, Donovan showed Reeve early on what it meant to not give up. The Sting started the year 1-10 in 2001 but went on to beat No. 1 seed Cleveland Rockers in the first round and then the New York Liberty in the Eastern Conference finals before eventually falling to the Los Angeles Sparks.
"To go through the journey with Anne and to see her navigate such difficult times to end up in the finals that year was one of the most prolific turnarounds in WNBA history in terms of if you look at the percentage of season that had past, and for us to scratch and claw," Reeve said.
Lynx center Sylvia Fowles was coached by Donovan in the Olympics.
