While the latest generation of stars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers can be thanked for the immense growth of the WNBA, another name is steadily making a case to be in that category. Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve: A recent record shattered is a sign of things to come from Olivia Miles.
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Lynx rookie Olivia Miles has done it all this season. All-Star starter? Check. Multiple Rookie of the Month honors? Check. And she recently broke a record that puts her in uncharted territory: beating Caitlin Clark’s 2024 record for most points by a rookie in a single season. For Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, that is more than enough for Miles to be considered one of the anchors of the next generation.
“Not a doubt. For Liv, she’s in the space of being with [Caitlin] Clark and with Paige and leading this start to the next 30 years.” Reeve endorsed Olivia Miles, via The Athletic’s Brian Hamilton.
Though she’s only finishing her rookie season in the WNBA, for the head coach, this is a sign that Miles belongs in the same category as some elite players the league has seen.
Olivia Miles was chosen as the No. 2 overall draft pick by the Lynx, but considering the impact Miles has provided to the Lynx compared to No. 1 overall pick Azzi Fudd’s impact with Dallas, it is safe to say the Lynx got lucky with Miles.
It is not like the Lynx didn’t know what they were getting themselves into. During Miles’ last year in college with the TCU Horned Frogs, she earned the Big 12 Women’s Athlete of the Year honor after averaging 19.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 6.6 assists in her lone season with them.
Moreover, Miles was already considered one of the best playmakers and an excellent shooter from outside the arc, and Lynx veteran Courtney Williams already understood Miles’ insane potential before the season even began.
“It’s undeniable. You’re seeing s— that, I’ve been doing this for 11 years, and I can’t make them type of passes,” Williams said.
Williams is now playing as a shooting guard for the Lynx after running the point last season. That responsibility has now been given to Miles this season.
However, nobody thought she would keep up with her college stats in her first season in the W, but that is the reality we are currently living in. Miles is averaging 19.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists with almost 50% shooting from the field, statistics eerily similar to her numbers in college.
Olivia Miles is now the clear favorite to win the Rookie of the Year and one of the frontrunners for the MVP award. Should she be successful in doing so, Miles will become only the second rookie in WNBA history to win both honors in the same season, after Candace Parker in 2008.
Coming back to Reeve, considering Miles to be in the same space as Caitlin Clark already seems to be the case, and the game between the Minnesota Lynx and the Indiana Fever on August 2 is the perfect example of it.
The matchup between Olivia Miles and Caitlin Clark became the second most-watched regular-season game in league history across ESPN platforms, further confirming Miles as the cream of the crop among the next generation of WNBA stars.
Miles, now with 790 points this season, conveniently surpassing Clark’s 769, is on her way to recording 800 points and beyond in the playoffs. The Lynx’s current record stands at 32-10, and they need one victory in their final two games of the regular season against Caitlin Clark and the Fever to secure the top seed.
While it has already been more than a legendary rookie campaign for Olivia Miles, winning the WNBA championship in her very first season would be the ultimate icing on the cake.