As the Minnesota Lynx’s primary offensive engine, Olivia Miles, missed the two final regular-season games, the Lynx held a record of 1-1 against the Indiana Fever. Kayla McBride and Natasha Howard combined for 43 points in the 86-66 win against the Fever, making Miles’ absence less impactful. But as the postseason arrives, the Lynx will need all the help they can get. And recently, some news arrived from the team just before the playoffs begin, per Lynx beat reporter Mitchell Hansen on X, and it is bound to excite all Minnesota fans, as their chances for a deep postseason run just got a massive boost

“Olivia Miles, who missed the last two games of the regular season, is officially off of the injury report. The Minnesota Lynx rookie point guard will be good to go Sunday in Game 1 of the playoffs,” wrote Hansen on X.

His post was a reply to a Lynx PR post on X about their injury report, which did not include Miles’ name. Prior to this, on Monday, September 21, Miles was listed as “questionable” and eventually ruled as “out,” just 90 minutes before the game against the Fever. Miles went on to miss two consecutive games due to a left calf injury.

“Going to do some testing, and we’ll go from there,” Lynx HC Reeve said about Miles at the time.

After the loss to the Fever, Reeve clarified the situation around Miles and gave a little background about her omission from the team during the post-game conference.

“Kind of the same way it was, really, since Sunday (September 20). It’s been something that sort of popped up and [I] almost didn’t play her against Connecticut. And probably shouldn’t have. We really were leaning that way. This (Fever game) wasn’t an option. We were like, ‘You’re not playing. You’re not ― as much as you want to play today. It just doesn’t make sense.’ So, we’ll do like we did today. See what tomorrow brings in terms of healing and the testing and the stuff that they do to kind of see where it’s at, but we just simply can’t take a chance.”

This is not the first time Miles has suffered from leg injuries this season. In July, Miles sat out one game due to strain in her right calf. After that, she hurt her left ankle during a game against the Golden State Valkyries in August. Thankfully, none of the injuries caused her to miss several games.

Now, having Miles back before the playoffs will be a massive advantage for the Lynx, which has relied on her as the primary playmaker early in the season when Napheesa Collier was out due to injury rehabilitation. In the absence of the 2025 MVP runner-up, Miles took on the mantle effortlessly and is now a frontrunner for the Rookie Of The Year. Olivia Miles has started all 40 games that she has played this season for Minnesota, averaging 19.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.

Miles’ importance to the team can be gauged from the fact that she leads the team in major offensive stat categories like points and assists per game. Miles not only gets on the board, but she does it quite efficiently as well, boasting an FG percentage of 49.2% and a three-point percentage of 38.8%.

Now the Lynx prepare to take on the New York Liberty in what promises to be a very exciting series in the first round of the playoffs.

The Minnesota Lynx Primed For a Deep Postseason Run

Last year’s semifinal exit was primarily blamed on Napheesa Collier’s injury. But this season, the Lynx have not just Collier but Olivia Miles as well in the lineup. They are backed by the veteran presences of Kayla McBride, Natasha Howard, and Courtney Williams. Howard leads the team in rebounds (7.6 rpg) and blocks (1.0 bpg), while McBride brings up the charge with a team-leading 1.6 steals per game.

But the New York Liberty presents a formidable challenge. The Lynx have lost the regular-season head-to-head record against the Liberty, winning only one of the three games the two teams played. The Liberty already have a blueprint from their most recent 93-81 victory over the Lynx on September 18.

New York did a good job in slowing down Miles’ high-paced scoring, making her miss the first 10 of her 13 shots. Miles was also blocked twice at the rim by Jonquel Jones. The Liberty defense was able to hold Miles to 27.8% from the field (compared to her season average of 49.2%) and refused to let her score any three-pointers.

In Breanna Stewart, the Liberty already has their main offensive weapon in place. The veteran is averaging 20.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.4 steals per game this season, and Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco has leaned on Stewart heavily in the absence of other regulars like Sabrina Ionescu.

The league’s competitiveness has only increased since last year, judging by the fact that despite losing only one game more than last season, the Liberty have dropped to eighth in the standings. But with a 26-18 record and Stewie, Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu on the roster, New York may still have the pieces to cause an upset.

Despite the Liberty looking in top form, the Lynx’s regular-season finale against the Fever showed why they are the top-seeded team in the W this season. They have the third-best-rated offense in the league at 112.1, averaging 90.8 points per game, and the fourth-best defensive rating as well, at 103.5, per WNBA Stats.

They suffocated one of the best scorers in the league, Caitlin Clark, to just two points in the entire game, and the second-best scorer in the league, Kelsey Mitchell, to just 10 points.

So it will be premature to rule out the Lynx, with or without Olivia Miles. Cheryl Reeve will finally hope to deliver their first title since 2017, as their squad has all the pieces for it on paper.