Olivia Miles Caps Incredible Rookie Season With Unanimous WNBA Rookie of the Year Award …Olivia Miles Caps Incredible Rookie Season With Unanimous WNBA Rookie of the Year Award

 

MINNEAPOLIS — Olivia Miles has officially put the finishing touch on a remarkable first season in the WNBA, becoming the 2026 Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year after receiving every vote from the league’s national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

 

The Minnesota Lynx guard was awarded the honor on September 28 after a debut campaign that saw her rewrite the WNBA rookie record book and establish herself as one of the league’s most productive young players.

 

Miles received all 74 votes, making her the unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year.

 

The award caps a season in which virtually every major rookie milestone seemed to have Miles’ name attached to it.

 

Selected by Minnesota with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, Miles immediately stepped into a major role for a Lynx team that ultimately finished with the best record in the league. She started all 40 games in which she appeared and averaged 19.8 points, 6.0 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.

 

She shot 49.2 percent from the field, 38.8 percent from three-point range and 87 percent from the free-throw line, giving Minnesota a highly productive backcourt presence throughout the regular season.

 

Miles breaks Caitlin Clark’s rookie scoring record

 

One of the biggest moments of Miles’ season came during the final week of the regular season when she broke Caitlin Clark’s WNBA rookie scoring record.

 

Clark had established the previous record with 769 points during her 2024 rookie season. Miles surpassed that total and eventually finished the 2026 regular season with 790 points.

 

The achievement was particularly significant because Clark’s rookie campaign had already established a new benchmark for scoring production.

 

Miles did not simply break the record — she added another 21 points to the new mark before the regular season concluded.

 

She also established a new WNBA rookie record for games with at least 20 points, reaching that mark 22 times. The previous record belonged to Minnesota Lynx legend Seimone Augustus, who recorded 20 such games in 2006.

 

A season filled with milestones

 

Miles’ impact went well beyond scoring.

 

She led all rookies in total points, scoring average, field goals made, defensive rebounds, total assists, assists per game and efficiency.

 

Her 239 assists ranked second among rookies in WNBA history, behind Clark’s 337 assists from 2024.

 

Miles also became an All-Star during her first professional season. She was selected as a starter for the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game in Chicago, becoming just the 11th rookie in league history to be selected as an All-Star starter.

 

Her consistency was another defining feature of the campaign.

 

Miles swept all four WNBA Rookie of the Month awards during the regular season, meaning she was recognized as the league’s top rookie in every month in which the award was presented.

 

She also earned Western Conference Player of the Week honors twice.

 

Those achievements helped make her unanimous Rookie of the Year selection less surprising when the voting results were finally announced.

 

The three-point performance that made history

 

Another memorable moment came on June 4 against the Golden State Valkyries.

 

Miles knocked down eight three-pointers, setting a WNBA rookie single-game record.

 

That performance became another early indication that Miles was capable of producing at a level rarely seen from a first-year player.

 

Later in the season, she added another franchise milestone by scoring 33 points against the Phoenix Mercury, setting the Lynx’s single-game rookie scoring record.

 

She also scored at least 10 points in each of her first 15 professional games, establishing the longest such streak by a Lynx rookie.

 

Helping Minnesota reach the top

 

Miles’ individual production was accompanied by team success.

 

The Lynx finished the regular season with a 33-11 record, earning the No. 1 seed in the WNBA playoffs.

 

That gave Minnesota home-court advantage throughout the postseason and put the franchise in position to pursue another championship.

 

Miles played a major role in that run, providing scoring, playmaking and perimeter shooting while adapting to the demands of professional basketball.

 

Her rookie season was not simply about personal statistics. Her production arrived within a Minnesota team competing at the top of the WNBA standings.

 

The combination of individual records and team success ultimately made her unanimous selection official.

 

Joining an elite group of Lynx rookies

 

Miles is now the sixth player in Minnesota Lynx history to win WNBA Rookie of the Year.

 

She joins a distinguished list that includes Betty Lennox, Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore, Napheesa Collier and Crystal Dangerfield.

 

The award also continues Minnesota’s long history of producing high-impact rookies.

 

For Miles, however, the achievement represents something different: the beginning of what could become a long career in the WNBA.

 

The 23-year-old guard arrived in Minnesota after playing college basketball at Notre Dame and TCU, and she quickly demonstrated that her game could translate to the professional level.

 

A historic rookie class benchmark

 

The significance of Miles’ unanimous selection is also reflected in the company she joins.

 

Clark won Rookie of the Year in 2024, while Paige Bueckers earned the honor in 2025. Miles now becomes the latest member of a recent generation of highly regarded rookies to make an immediate impact in the WNBA.

 

However, Miles’ unanimous result adds another distinction to her résumé.

 

The WNBA announced that she received every one of the 74 available votes from the national media panel.

 

Her season also earned recognition beyond the league’s official award. The Associated Press named Miles its Rookie of the Year as well, further highlighting the strength of her debut campaign.

 

The next challenge awaits

 

While the Rookie of the Year award provides a major individual achievement, Miles’ season is not necessarily over.

 

Minnesota entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed and began its postseason against the New York Liberty.

 

The Lynx lost Game 1 of their first-round series, leaving Minnesota facing a crucial Game 2 on the road.

 

For Miles, the playoffs provide another opportunity to demonstrate how quickly she has adapted to the professional game.

 

Her regular-season campaign has already secured her place in the WNBA record books.

 

Now, the focus turns toward helping Minnesota continue its championship pursuit.

 

Regardless of what happens next in the playoffs, Miles has already delivered a rookie season that will be remembered.

 

She broke Caitlin Clark’s rookie scoring record, set a new mark for 20-point games, became an All-Star starter, swept the Rookie of the Month awards and helped Minnesota finish with the league’s best record.

 

And then came the ultimate individual recognition.

 

Olivia Miles is the 2026 Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year — unanimously.

 

For a player beginning her professional career, it is difficult to imagine a more emphatic way to announce her arrival.