Minnesota Lynx’s Olivia Miles named 2026 WNBA Rookie of the Year

Olivia Miles, the Minnesota Lynx guard, was unanimously selected as the 2026 WNBA Rookie of the Year after a record season. She averaged 19.8 points, 6.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game, shooting 49.2 percent overall and 38.8 percent from three-point range; with 790 total points she set the highest record for a rookie in league history.

As Bleacher Report reports, Miles was considered by some the best player in the 2026 draft class, yet she was selected second overall, after UConn scorer Azzi Fudd. The Dallas Wings, who chose Fudd over Miles with the top pick, are now seen as having made a grave mistake. With five college seasons under her belt, the 5-foot-10 Miles entered the league as a polished prospect, with no expectation she would have the immediate impact she showed.

Napheesa Collier recovered from ankle surgery and debuted in the season on July 22; until then, thanks to Miles’ performances, Minnesota had reached a 22-6 record. The rookie’s leadership role on the court during Collier’s absence was decisive, while Fudd’s season-ending knee surgery gave Miles more room to consolidate her position for the rookie award.

The award announcement came a day after Minnesota’s loss in New York in the first game of the first playoff round, where Miles showed some signs of inexperience, shooting 3-of-12 and recording four turnovers against just one assist. Even if the Lynx fail to reach the WNBA finals, this season constitutes a significant success for the team, which appears to have found a new franchise cornerstone — a point also made by Bleacher Report.