Record-setting Minnesota Lynx guard Olivia Miles was unanimously named the 2026 WNBA Rookie of the Year on Monday.
Miles, 23, received all 74 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters after averaging 19.8 points, 6.0 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 40 starts for a team with the league’s best record. She shot 49.2% from the field, 38.8% from 3-point range and 87% from the free-throw line.
Miles broke the league’s rookie record for points with 790, topping Caitlin Clark’s 2024 mark of 769. She also broke a rookie mark for most 20-point games with 22, two more than Seimone Agustus in 2006.
Drafted No. 2 overall after playing at TCU and Notre Dame, Miles swept all four WNBA Rookie of the Month awards during the regular season and was voted as a starter for the 2026 All-Star Game in Chicago in July.
She led all rookies in total points, points per game, field goals made (279), defensive rebounds (163), total assists (239) and assists per game. She was third among rookies in rebounds per game and 3-point field goals made (64), fourth in steals per game and tied for fourth in total blocks (25).
Miles is the sixth Minnesota player to win Rookie of the Year honors, joining Betty Lennox (2000), Augustus (2006), Maya Moore (2011), Napheesa Collier (2019) and Crystal Dangerfield (2020).
–Field Level Media
