Olivia Miles has big goals. The Minnesota Lynx star wanted to learn and “soak up everything” to stay in the league for a long time. 12 games later, she is in MVP conversations. She has dazzled as the primary point guard for the No. 1 team in the WNBA, but now she faces her toughest test yet. 

Miles has defeated Paige Bueckers twice, Veronica Burton once, and Alyssa Thomas as well. Now, Chelsea Gray is her next guard matchup. The ‘point-gawd’ brings a wealth of experience against the rookie and is coming off a 29-point game in which she had 9 three-pointers. However, former basketball player Lisa Leslie pointed out one underrated aspect of Gray’s game that Olivia Miles needed to be aware of. 

“One of the things Olivia may not know,” Leslie started on the CBS Sports Pre-game show. “Chelsea Gray has some of the best hands. She will pick up the ball and take it from her, but Olivia is going to have to take this challenge and step up to it in this matchup.”

With three turnovers per game, Miles ranks top 10 in the league in that metric.

But as a rookie, her turnover rate has been impressive, with an assist-turnover ratio of 2.11. For context, Gray has an assist/turnover ratio of 2.10 and remains one of the best guards in the league, further showing why Miles was called “Baby Chelsea Gray” before the season began. 

“Happy to be back in my natural position, and she out here killing it, man. So, like I said, this little joker here, like a little baby Chelsea Gray. Like, she gonna be cold. She gonna be so cold,” Courtney Williams said a month ago.

While Gray is averaging 0.9 steals per game this season, she has averaged 1.2 steals over her career. She is also scoring 3.1 points off opponents’ turnovers this season, which is the second-best in her career. Gray’s experience should trouble Miles. But Miles will have enough sample size of Gray’s talent to be able to analyze it and plan against it.

Olivia Miles versus Chelsea Gray

The effect was visible through the first half, as Miles already had 4 turnovers, finishing with 6. In the third quarter, Gray put the brakes on Miles, who had the ball on the wing and drove to the baseline. But Gray managed to lock up the youngster as the clock ran out.

The Aces managed to disrupt the Lynx offense with multiple deflections and steals. They limited Miles’ creation to just one assist.

Nevertheless, Miles showed her resilience. She was automatic on offense, dropping 29 points while going 11/20 from the field.

She went one-on-one against the reigning Defensive Player Of The Year, A’ja Wilson, twice and scored in crucial moments. Miles also shot off a three with less than half a minute on the clock. But she has certainly learned a couple of lessons from this game with regard to her passing and guard play, as the Lynx lost 97-100 to two clutch free throws from Gray.

Olivia Miles has spent her rookie year proving that she belongs on this stage. But Gray offered a reminder that experience still matters.