Olivia Miles just made her case for becoming the 2026 WNBA Rookie of the Year stronger. Entering Minnesota’s matchup against the Connecticut Sun tied with Caitlin Clark at 769 points, the Lynx rookie needed just one more to take sole possession of the WNBA rookie scoring record.

Miles went scoreless through the opening quarter before breaking through 29 seconds into the second, converting a free throw to move past Clark. She finished with 21 points and six assists as Minnesota earned a 101-89 win over Connecticut.

“NO ROOKIE HAS SCORED MORE 👏,” their X post read. “With her first point today, Olivia Miles passes Caitlin Clark (769) for the most points scored by a rookie in WNBA history!”

Her achievement even prompted recognition from the NBA, which reposted the WNBA’s post, adding a congratulatory message.

“Congrats to Olivia Miles for setting the all-time record for most points scored by a rookie in WNBA history 👏.”

Miles credited the Lynx after the game, saying the achievement reflected the support around her as much as her individual performance.

“It wouldn’t be possible without, one, a coach who believes in you and, two, teammates who have my back for anything,” Olivia Miles said later. “It’s really special to obviously be able to accomplish that with such a great team, and kind of win as well is really special.”

That milestone was the latest in what has already been a standout debut season for Miles. The Lynx selected the former TCU guard with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, placing her on a Minnesota roster built to compete for a championship rather than asking her to carry a rebuilding team.

Miles quickly became a key part of that equation. Entering the Connecticut game, she was averaging 19.7 points, 6.0 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per game, helping the Lynx hold the WNBA’s best record at 32-10. Her production as both a scorer and playmaker had already put her firmly at the center of the Rookie of the Year conversation, and the chase for Caitlin Clark’s scoring record added another defining chapter to her first season.

Caitlin Clark set the rookie scoring record back in 2024, when she scored 769 total points over the course of the season, averaging 19.2 points per game. Miles has exceeded that mark, averaging 19.7 points per game. Following her achievement, ESPN Insights pointed out on X that Miles was fourth in points per game as a rookie, sitting behind Cynthia Cooper (22.2), Seimone Augustus (21.9), and A’ja Wilson (20.7).

It is important to note that Miles has reached a higher total than Cooper and the others because the season is several games longer now. For instance, Augustus, who held the scoring record before Clark, played in 2006, which meant she had only 34 games.

Meanwhile, Miles set the benchmark at 390 in 40 games, the same as Clark, and has two more games left this season. So it’s expected that she’ll even break the 300 total points mark.

Olivia Miles’ milestone comes just one game after she was visibly frustrated with the officiating calls in the W and even called out the change in fouls being called from the beginning of the season to now.

It was after the Lynx’s loss to the New York Liberty, where Miles was held to 20 points by a very physical Liberty defense. The aggressive defense curbed Miles to 5-for-18 from the field and 0-for-3 from beyond the arc, which is not nearly as efficient as she usually is. Miles’ five outings before the Liberty game saw her score 36-0f-73 (49.3%) from the field.

“They were calling it one way at the beginning of the season, and now it’s like a free-for-all, I guess,” she said in the post-game presser. “And I’m trying to adjust back, and I have to do so a little bit more quickly.

“But yeah, I mean, it’s frustrating at times when you feel like you’re getting hounded everywhere, and pushed off your spots, and thrown on the ground and stuff.”

However, she wasn’t the only one who had aired her issues with this season’s officiating as a whole. The Lynx head coach, Cheryl Reeve, echoed the same sentiment of not relying on any external factor, including officiating, and Miles’ achievement came during a win for the team.

Olivia Miles helped the Lynx clinch a lifeline in the No. 1 seed race

Minnesota defeated the Connecticut Sun with a final score of 101-89, with Miles playing second fiddle to Napheesa Collier, who led the scoring effort for the Lynx. She scored 23 points and added six rebounds.

However, this win was more important for the team than any other regular-season win, as it helped them snap a three-game skid. Had they lost the game against the Sun, they would’ve needed to win both their remaining games against the Indiana Fever, considering the Valkyries win their remaining games.

When the Minnesota Lynx qualified for the playoffs, they needed just one win to clinch the No. 1 seed and secure home-court advantage. However, after the three losses, they needed two wins to secure the No. 1 seed.

With the latest win against the Sun, the Lynx are now one win away from clinching the #1 seed. However, the job isn’t done yet.

Golden State remains firmly in the race for the No. 1 seed. The Valkyries improved to 8-2 over their last 10 games with their latest win over the Chicago Sky and have won seven straight. They can still overtake Minnesota for the top spot if the Lynx fail to sweep their back-to-back regular-season matchups against the Indiana Fever.

This was not the first time Miles had taken a rookie record from Clark during her debut season. On June 4, she hit eight 3-pointers in Minnesota’s 87-84 win over the Golden State Valkyries, breaking the rookie single-game record of seven that Clark had shared with Crystal Robinson. Then, on July 11, Miles became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 350 points, 100 rebounds and 100 assists, doing so in 21 games to surpass the 22-game mark previously shared by Clark and Andrea Stinson.

Her 790-point total against Connecticut completed the third such record swap, giving the Lynx rookie another historic milestone in a season already defined by her pursuit of Clark’s standard.

Meanwhile, with Miles now having two more games left to play, there’s a clear way for her to run the score up. After Clark’s record has been broken, Miles is now on the way to something even bigger. However, Coach Reeve thinks that Miles needs to keep improving as she approaches her first WNBA playoffs.

“The honeymoon is over, and we’ve got things to do,” Reeve told reporters after winning against the Sun. “She’s been incredible for us, but it’s gonna get harder, and she’s gotta be able to quickly navigate things and make reads that make us a better team. She’s going to have to, you know, every possession on both sides of the ball…”

Regardless of what seed they end up securing, it’ll be interesting to see if Miles can go all the way to winning her first championship in her rookie season with Minnesota.