The new era of WNBA talent gets more and more surreal by the year. This season, a rookie entered the league and thought, "Why go for Rookie of the Year when I could put my name at the top of the MVP conversation?"
Olivia Miles was drafted second overall by the Minnesota Lynx in the recent WNBA draft. Before the start of the season, the doubt and questioning of her draft positioning ramped up. Conversations about how she'd translate to the league, including her defensive abilities and 3-point shooting, were swirling. While some skeptics were loud, Miles' game has been much louder.
She immediately became the Lynx's go-to girl, sliding right into the starting point guard position. One of Miles' best attributes is her ability to facilitate on the floor and handle the ball; this allowed Courtney Williams to return to her primary shooting guard position. Putting Miles with other dominant guards like Williams and Kayla McBride has worked out nearly flawlessly for Minnesota this season, even with Napheesa Collier out for the first half of the year. The Lynx have clinched a playoff spot, sit at No. 1 in the league standings and are the favorite to win it all.
So, Miles is one of the best players on one of the best teams. She joins a long list of rookies who have put the league on notice instantly. But where does she rank amongst those historic first-year stars?
Olivia Miles' rookie season stardom
Miles is averaging 19.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game. She's in the top ten of both points and assists per game across the league. She's shooting 49.7 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from beyond the arc — both jumps from her college statistics.
The history-making of Miles through this season has been making headlines, as well. She set a new rookie franchise record for the Minnesota Lynx when she put up 33 points against the Phoenix Mercury. She broke Crystal Robinson and Caitlin Clark's record for most 3-pointers made by a rookie in a single game with eight against the Golden State Valkyries. Miles is also the fastest player in WNBA history to record 400 points, 100 rebounds and 100 assists. She did so in only 22 games.
This year's Rookie of the Year conversation has all but ended, respectfully. Miles has had a tight hold on the title since around June. She has won every WNBA Rookie of the Month award this season. The most recent player to do this was Rhyne Howard in 2022. But It's even possible Miles has her sights set on a larger award — maybe Most Valuable Player. Only one WNBA rookie has ever won both Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same year — Candace Parker.
Even if Miles doesn't win MVP, because let's be honest, A'ja Wilson is still the frontrunner, her trajectory shows that she'll likely be named to the All-WNBA First Team. Only five rookies across the league's history have been awarded this honor. In my opinion, it's impossible to officially rank Miles' rookie season amongst the greats — at least until we know where she lands in MVP voting. However, for right now, I'd place her right in the middle of those five first-teamers that she'll likely be joining in only a matter of time. Plus, if she's able to help guide Minnesota to a championship, her placement among the best rookie seasons ever skyrockets.
Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks (2008)
CP closed out her rookie year averaging 18.5 points, a league-leading 9.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.3 blocks per game. No one was filling out the stat sheet quite like Parker in 2008. Much like Miles, she was a shoo-in for Rookie of the Year. But even with players like Lindsay Whalen and Sue Bird in contention, Parker snatched the Most Valuable Player award. Needless to say, Parker was also named to the All-WNBA First Team in 2008. The Sparks finished with a 20-14 record, losing in the second round of the playoffs that year.
Tamika Catchings, Indiana Fever (2002)
Tamika Catchings' rookie season is known to be one of the most dominant the league has ever seen. She finished the year averaging 18.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.9 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. She made the All-WNBA First Team, was named Rookie of the Year, finished third in MVP voting and second in Defensive Player of the Year voting. 2002 was the Fever's first time making the playoffs. Catchings led them to the untouched territory, despite the team losing in the first round.
Sue Bird, Seattle Storm (2002)
Speaking of 2002, Bird is the only player on this list of five who did not win Rookie of the Year, but that's because she was just behind Catchings in the voting. She finished the season averaging 14.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Bird was fifth in MVP voting and was named to the First Team. The Storm finished with a 17-15 record in 2002 and lost in the first round of the playoffs. Her rookie season was only the beginning of becoming one of the best point guards this league has ever seen — a trajectory Miles hopes to follow.
Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury (2004)
Although the Mercury missed the 2004 playoffs, it was the beginning of the Taurasi era in Phoenix, which turned out to be priceless. She finished her rookie season averaging 17.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Taurasi finished third in 2004 MVP voting and was named to the First Team. She remains one of the best rookie guards in WNBA history — even with players like Caitlin Clark breaking some of her records.
Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever (2024)
Finally, Caitlin Clark is the fifth and most recent player to make the First Team during their rookie season. She was the first to do so since CP in 2004. Clark finished her rookie season averaging 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 8.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game. She finished fourth in MVP voting and firmly secured her spot as one of the best rookies we've seen hit the league. Clark broke all kinds of records, including single-season total assists and total points recorded in a rookie season. She also helped lead the Fever to break their seven-year playoff drought. However, they were eliminated in the first round.
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