The names go deeper than just Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd. Olivia Miles. Kiki Rice. Flau’jae Johnson, to name a few.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
All lace up their sneakers for the first time this year as part of one of the WNBA’s most-hyped rookie classes in recent memory. If ever. They arrive with the elevated expectations of not just revolutionizing their new respective teams, but rather the entire league, as well.
Just three weeks into the season and a picture is beginning to emerge as the vaunted class acclimates to new roles. Some have already established themselves, while others struggle with injuries and discovering their place in the new league. Yet the best of them all, so far, might be a player who went undrafted.
Here’s an early breakdown of the 2026 rookie class out of the gate with an examination of three tiers: production, opportunity and trajectory. Impacts can be made outside the stat sheet.
A look at the top-performers through the first three weeks of the season and early candidates for Rookie of the Year –
THE FRONTRUNNER: OLIVIA MILES – MINNESOTA LYNX
Olivia Miles has, arguably, been the biggest breakout star among an elite class of talent.
The Minnesota point guard became just the fifth player in history to post 20-plus points and five-plus assists in her WNBA debut. The only other players to accomplish the feat were Cynthia Cooper, Tonya Edwards and Dawn Staley, as well as the legendary Candace Parker.
The Lynx might have lost by a point to the Atlanta Dream, but Miles’ 21 points, 8 assists and 3 rebounds, along with a pair of steals and blocks, almost immediately justified her selection at No. 2 overall. All without Minnesota’s MVP-caliber forward Napheesa Collier.
“If Courtney Williams is watching, I don’t mean to suggest that she’s not a great point guard,” Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said, “but (Miles) is the first real point guard we’ve had since Lindsay Whalen.”
Through her first six games, Miles is averaging 15.0 points, 5.5 assists and 5.0 boards. Her assist rate accounts for 26.9 percent of all scoring when on the floor for a Lynx team that is outscoring its opponents by 12 points per every 100 possessions with her out there.
That places her firmly in control of the early Rookie of the Year race.
GRADE: A+
THE OVERLOOKED: JOVANA NOGIC & PAULINE ASTIER
Two of arguably the best rookies from this year’s class didn’t hear their names called on Draft Night.
Despite not being drafted, Jovana Nogic and Pauline Astier are already putting the new international face of the league on display and redefining what a first-year player looks like in the WNBA.
JOVANA NOGIC – PHOENIX MERCURY
The 28-year-old Serbian point guard loudly announced her arrival despite visa issues that limited her preseason practice time. Nogic scored 19 points (all in the first half), dished out four assists and swiped a pair of steals in her Phoenix Mercury debut against the defending champion Las Vegas Aces.
Those 19 first half points were the most in league history in a player’s first career game and the second-most ever posted in a single half by a rookie, falling two points shy of Candace Parker’s 21-point second-half performance during the 2008 season.
Nogic is lighting it up from outside, connecting on 15 threes (second-best in the WNBA), while averaging 16.0 PPG on 80.4 percent shooting, including 65.0 percent from beyond the arc.
PAULINE ASTIER – NEW YORK LIBERTY
Pauline Astier was originally signed by the New York Liberty to provide roster depth. But the 24-year-old French guard made the most of Sabrina Ionescu’s foot injury, becoming the first rookie this year to register back-to-back 20-point games.
Her 12.1 PPG (46 percent from three) is tops among all rookies.
Their arrival comes courtesy of the WNBA’s new CBA, which finally makes it financially worthwhile for players from Europe and abroad to enter the league. Nogic and Astier are not just rookies, they very well might be trailblazers.
GRADE FOR BOTH: A
THE OPPORTUNIST: FLAU’JAE JOHNSON – SEATTLE STORM
No rookie enters the 2026 season with a better opportunity to contribute than Flau’jae Johnson. With five of their top-5 scorers from last season gone via free agency, Johnson is primed to make an early impact.
Johnson is averaging 12.5 PPG, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks while pacing the Storm with team-high 28.0 minutes of floor time per contest.
Her defense alone should keep her in the Rookie of the Year conversation (+800 currently in the betting markets), but her sub-30 percent shooting from three must improve. Johnson’s physicality, however, is getting her to the line and opening up opportunities.
With low expectations for the rebuilding Storm, Johnson gets a season-worth of experience and minutes to adjust her game to the speed of the league. That should develop her into a menace to the WNBA for years to come.
GRADE: B
RISING TALENT: KIKI RICE – TORONTO TEMPO
Kiki Rice came off the bench during her first career game, but she didn’t remain in a reserve role for long.
The Toronto point guard followed up a scoreless debut with six consecutive double-figure scoring games. That includes 19 points in her first career start and zero turnovers in 30 minutes on the court.
She sits at No. 10 overall in the league in three-point shooting (50.0 percent) and is averaging 11.4 PPG on 55.9 percent shooting, while quietly boasting one of the most efficient stat lines among all rookies.
Rice might be a sleeper to win the Rookie of the Year. But her development on a somewhat competitive team will be key, as is her willingness to take on whatever role the team needs.
“We got really lucky getting her in the draft,” Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello said of the former UCLA star via the Los Angeles Times. “She hasn’t disappointed.”
GRADE: B+
THE CONTENDERS: GABRIELA JAQUEZ, AZZI FUDD & LAUREN BETTS
GABRIELA JAQUEZ – CHICAGO SKY
Gabriela Jaquez was unexpectedly thrust into a starring role with the season-ending injury (ACL tear) to Chicago’s leading scorer Rickea Jackson (18.0 PPG).
The wing/forward has lived up to her fifth overall pick status by stepping up with 11.5 PPG, 5.3 rebounds and an 88.5 percentage from the free throw line. The Lynx found out firsthand after Jaquez poured in a career-best 20 points and snared eight boards in the Sky’s 86-79 victory.
She’ll earn major minutes this season and should be considered among the best of the rookie class by the end of the season.
GRADE: B
AZZI FUDD – DALLAS WINGS
Azzi Fudd’s career with the Dallas Wings hasn’t taken flight the way many expected or hoped. That said, the signs of improvement, and efficiency, are there.
On May 24, the league finally got its first true look at the No. 1 pick as she broke out with 24 points on 6-12 shooting from three-point range as Dallas downed the Liberty.
Fudd appears to have shaken off early season knee issues which caused her to miss the team’s second game. Since then she’s upped her statline to 11 PPG while sinking 56.3 percent of her shots from the field and 43.5 percent from three-point land. Signs suggest that Fudd’s slow start was just that, minor turbulence upon take off.
Wings teammate Paige Bueckers can already see the development.
“We knew it was only a matter of time,” Bueckers said in the postgame after Dallas’ 91-76 win over New York.
GRADE: B-
LAUREN BETTS – WASHINGTON MYSTICS
Lauren Betts has flashed some signs of her immense talent early on in the season, but unfortunately the opportunities to contribute on a bigger scale have yet to materialize for the fourth overall pick and one of a record six UCLA Bruins selected in the 2026 draft.
Betts is averaging 5.6 PPG (45.8 percent shooting) and has 15 rebounds, while appearing in 14.4 minutes per game off the bench behind Kiki Iriafen and Shakira Austin.
For now, Betts is still a work in progress.
GRADE: INCOMPLETE
THE BRUINS REPORT: TRACKING THE BIG SIX
UCLA made WNBA history in April when a record six of its NCAA-title winning mainstays were selected in the draft. Five of those six went off the board in the first round. It’s been mixed results for the Big Six.
JAQUEZ & RICE
Jaquez and Rice have both taken advantage of opportunities to play early and have not disappointed. Betts is still developing and scrapping for minutes as a third option off the bench in Washington.
BETTS & DUGALIC
Same goes for Betts’ former UCLA and current Mystic teammate Angela Dugalic. The Serbian forward is shooting 56.3 percent from the floor so far, but has done so on an average of just 10.8 minutes per night. She recently maximized her 12 minutes of playing time versus Seattle on May 24 by scoring a career-best 13 points on 5-6 shooting.
KNEEPKENS & LEGER-WALKER
The picture isn’t as bright at the moment for Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker, who both find themselves mired on a moribund Sun team playing out its final season in Connecticut (1-7) before relocating to Houston in 2027.
Kneepkens is garnering just 11 minutes per game, while Leger-Walker is averaging twice as many minutes, to go along with 7.8 PPG and a career-high 16 points against Seattle.
The championship pedigree is very real. But whether or not that will translate into success on the professional level remains to be seen. And some former Bruins are finding that out the difficult way.
THE LANDING
Three weeks is a small sample size. But the 2026 WNBA draft class is beginning to take form.
Olivia Miles has leapt ahead as the early frontrunner for Rookie of the Year. Jovana Nogic and Pauline Astier are already transforming the look of the league. Kiki Rice might have the highest ceiling among them all.
But the season is long. Azzu Fudd is getting healthier and finding her footing. Flau’jae Johnson’s efficiency improves every game.
And, lest we forget, that Miles has yet to play with two-time MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier, who has been sidelined to start the year after having ankle surgery in March.
It’s a strong start to the careers of one of the most historic, highly-anticipated draft classes in WNBA history. Their stories are starting to write themselves. Now we wait to see whose tale ends in a Rookie of the Year Award.
