Olivia Miles has already separated herself from the rest of the 2026 rookie class. She is currently the overwhelming favorite to win Rookie of the Year, but her impact on the Minnesota Lynx has pushed her into a much bigger conversation. The rookie guard is now being viewed as one of the leading challengers behind A’ja Wilson in the MVP race, and analyst Erica L. Ayala believes her case deserves even more attention.
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With Napheesa Collier out for the first half of the season, many expected the Lynx to crumble. But behind Miles, Minnesota recorded 21 wins and just six losses while comfortably sitting atop the WNBA standings. So according to Ayala, Miles deserves significant credit for helping the Lynx maintain their dominance even without their franchise star.
“I’m going to be honest: without Napheesa Collier, I didn’t know what we were going to get from Minnesota. And then Olivia Miles is like, hold my spectacles, hold my goggles because I got this,” Ayala said in the latest episode of We Need To Talk.
“And I think that’s huge for me. I say it all the time: MVP is not best player, best team. It can be, but it’s not an automatic best player, best team. It’s not the person that’s scoring the most points. It is the person who is most valuable to their team.”
“And the fact that Olivia Miles happens to be on the first team to clinch, the top team in the standings, that she is also a rookie, that she’s a top performer, a top scorer, while also facilitating the rest of the offense.”
Of course, Miles hasn’t done it alone. Veterans Kayla McBride, Natasha Howard and Courtney Williams have also played key roles in keeping Minnesota at the top of the standings. But Miles isn’t simply benefiting from being part of one of the best teams in the league. She has been one of the main reasons the Lynx were able to remain there while Collier was sidelined.
The 23-year-old currently averages 20.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game, which has given Minnesota a reliable scoring option. Her ability to create for herself and others has allowed the Lynx to keep their offense running even when they have faced teams like the defending champions, the Las Vegas Aces.
Although A’ja Wilson leads the MVP debate, she was limited to just 16 points and committed five turnovers when the Lynx faced the Aces on August 8, as Minnesota came away with the win. It is also worth noting that in that game, Olivia Miles also made WNBA history as the fastest player to reach 600 points and 150 assists.
Now, with Collier also back in the lineup, Minnesota has continued its dominant run and improved to 27-7 on the season.
That could make Miles’ MVP case even more intriguing. Her candidacy is not based on replacing Collier or suggesting that the rookie has become Minnesota’s new franchise star. It is about the value she has provided to a team that was already built around one of the league’s biggest stars.
For a rookie guard to be discussed alongside established MVP contenders is already a remarkable development. But Ayala’s argument offers a different way of looking at Olivia Miles’ candidacy – one that focuses less on whether she is the league’s best individual player and more on just how much the Lynx have needed her to become the team sitting at the top of the standings.