Olivia Miles has joined an exclusive club of a handful of rookies in WNBA history to win the Rookie of the Year award by unanimous vote. The Minnesota Lynx rookie received all the votes from a national panel that included broadcasters and sportswriters. The good news for Miles comes just a day after the Lynx suffered a devastating 91-75 defeat in Game 1 of the first-round series against the New York Liberty.
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“Olivia Miles is the 2026 WNBA Rookie of the Year. The award was unanimous.”
“She received all 74 votes. Miles is the 6th unanimous ROY, joining Aliyah Boston, A’ja Wilson, Elena Delle Donne, Tina Charles and Candace Parker,” USA Today’s Meghan Hall wrote on X.
The Lynx have been the best team throughout the season, and Miles has been at the center of their success. While the Lynx’s best player, Napheesa Collier, was out for most of the season recovering from the injury, Miles spearheaded the Lynx’s offense, keeping Minnesota at the top of the league.
She is the sixth rookie in the franchise history to win the prestigious award, and joins the ranks of Maya Moore and Collier. Miles’ rookie year was simply historic as the WNBA world watched her shatter one record after another and awe fans with her game on both ends of the floor.
The Lynx picked Miles at No. 2, and head coach Cheryl Reeve showed early trust in her, letting her spearhead the team’s offense. By the end of the season, Miles averaged 19.8 points, 6.0 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.3 steals. Now, she holds the record for most points by a rookie (790) in a season, which previously belonged to Caitlin Clark (769). She shot 49.2% from the field, which included 38.8% shooting from the deep.
After 40 appearances as a starter in the 44 games this season, Miles ended the season with the most points (both in total and average), field goals made, total assists, and efficiency. She was also top 10 in the league in scoring.
The unanimous voting shouldn’t be surprising to anyone who has followed Miles through the season. The Lynx player swept the Rookie of the Month honors four times. She was that consistent throughout the season. Miles also won the Western Conference Player of the Week twice.
Her 22 games with 20+ points is the most by a rookie in WNBA history, as is her eight 3-pointers against the Golden State Valkyries. Her 33-point performance against the Phoenix Mercury was the most by a rookie in the Lynx’s history. So an argument can be made that Miles remained a key piece of the Lynx roster even when Napheesa Collier came back from injury.
Moreover, on six different occasions, the Lynx had a game with 20+ points while recording 50/40/90% shooting splits. That is the most by any rookie in league history. She became the fastest (26 games) player to reach the 500 points and 150 assists marks in WNBA history, surpassing Clark (29) and Paige Bueckers’ (28) benchmarks.
However, Lynx’s season is not done yet, and Miles’ biggest test is happening right now in the playoffs. After a poor performance in Game 1 against the Liberty, fans will expect her to bounce back in Game 2 at Barclays Center.