Olivia Miles might be one of the newest faces and personalities WNBA fans have seen this season, but the rookie already has a clear idea of the kind of superstar that she wants by her side, even if it’s not about basketball. For Miles, New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart is exactly what she’s looking for in a star.
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That became clear when Miles, who was visiting the US Open, was asked about her ideal tennis doubles partner by Sportsish, who then revealed her reasoning. Importantly, she was asked not to pick a teammate from the Minnesota Lynx as the answer, so Stewart became her first choice. The interaction was posted to Instagram by ESPN W.
“Give me Breanna Stewart,” Miles said on Instagram. “She’s just so smart, and she’s just good all over the court as she is in basketball. So, yeah, I think she’d be a great partner.”
The answer might have been related to tennis, but Miles’s reasoning makes sense. It stands out even more considering that this is not the first time Miles has given Stewart flowers. Just after being drafted, back in April, Miles was asked to choose between several college players by the Daily Mail.
The knockout eventually reached a final matchup between Stewart and Caitlin Clark, and Miles made it clear that she thought the forward had a better college career.
“See, this is hard,” Miles said. “Caitlin has the scoring, the assists. Stewie has four chips and four MOPs. I’m just gonna have to go Stewie just based off her dominance and winning.”
It makes sense considering just how impressive Stewart’s time at UConn was. She won a national championship in each of her four seasons with the program, was named Most Outstanding Player in the Final Four each season, and became the only collegiate women’s basketball player to win those honors in every tournament she played. She held an incredible 151-5 record in college.
Even more intriguing is that Miles and Stewart are already connected through an opportunity away from the WNBA. Miles was selected for Unrivaled’s “Future is Unrivaled” NIL class in 2025, which was meant to bring young players into the league’s ecosystem. Later, after being drafted, she signed a multi-year deal with Unrivaled, becoming the first incoming rookie from the WNBA to sign with them, and is set to debut in the 2027 season.
For those who don’t know, Stewart, apart from being another player on the Unrivaled roster for the 2027 season, is also a co-founder of the rival league alongside fellow professional Napheesa Collier, launching the league in 2023 before its inaugural season kicked off in 2024.
The league has grown dramatically since its launch. The latest funding round for Unrivaled gave it a $650 million valuation back in August, with the players holding an equity stake valued at about $200 million.
Why Breanna Stewart Remains the Player Young Stars Like Olivia Miles Admire
Though Miles is stuck cheering on Team USA from back home, Stewart is now leading the American squad at the FIBA World Cup as their most accomplished player. After starting the tournament slowly, she has increased her production after the 55-52 win against Italy. In that game, she scored just five points on 1-for-9 shooting.
Since then, she has been lighting up the scoring sheet, averaging 14.3 points on 68.2% shooting from the field while adding 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists. She led the team to the finals against France with a 16-point outing against Spain, leading the team in scoring while also playing stellar defense.
She is also aware of the challenge awaiting the team in the World Cup final against France. After the game against Spain, she directly addressed the matchup and said that the team is prepared.
“We won that game,” Stewart said of the last matchup between the two countries in the 2024 Paris Olympics. “That game is over. This is a completely new game [Sunday]… We’re going to make sure our scout is great, and we’re locked in and ready to go.”
She also added via USA Today’s Megan Hall, “They’re a really tough team. They’re shooting the (expletive) out of the ball this tournament, but we have a quick turnaround … We’ll flip the page for France.”
Despite her confidence, Team USA is heading into the game at a major statistical disadvantage. As Stewart pointed out, France is the most efficient team in the tournament so far, averaging 96.2 points to the USA’s 87.6, while also leading the field in FIBA’s efficiency statistic at 123.4 to the American team’s 109.2.
Only time will tell if Stewart and the rest of the US squad will bring home the championship, but it’s clear that she already has many young players looking up to her, including Olivia Miles.