Olivia Miles ranks 1st among 1,203 all-time WNBA players with impressive rookie start

Olivia Miles ranks 1st among 1,203 all-time WNBA players with impressive rookie start originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

>Olivia Miles' rookie season hasn't just been "good" or "great."

>It has been historic.

>Miles already can be considered a shoo-in to win the Rookie of the Year award, but the Minnesota Lynx's budding star also has thrown herself into the WNBA MVP race one-third of the way through the 2026 season.

>MORE: Lynx's Olivia Miles might as well get Rookie of the Year right now

>Miles has led the Lynx to a league-best 12-3 record as All-Star forward Napheesa Collier continues her recovery from offseason ankle surgery.

>The former TCU and Notre Dame star is averaging 19.0 points, 5.7 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game, and she scored a career-high 31 points in a 99-83 win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday.

>The 31-point, four-assist outburst in Los Angeles saw Miles shatter a mark once held by Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers for points generated by a rookie in their first 15 games played.

>Miles has generated 485 total points to date, 13 more than Bueckers and 36 more more than Clark at this point in 2025 and 2024 respectively.

>

Most points generated by a player in the first 15 games of their rookie season in WNBA history:

1. OLIVIA MILES (485)

She sits atop a pretty, pretty good list. No other rookie has generated more points through their first 15 games. (Excludes the 1997 season.) pic.twitter.com/E2NBw3AXPG

— Dan Falkenheim (@thefalkon) June 18, 2026In addition, Miles' 3.1 win shares mark is second in the WNBA behind only four-time MVP A'ja Wilson -- and, it goes without saying, tops among rookies.

>What might not be as well-known is that Miles' win shares figure is the highest any rookie -- out of 1,203 possible players -- ever has accrued. And there are still 29 games remaining.

>If Miles is proving this important to winning without Collier, everyone but Lynx fans will be dreading what happens when the two-time MVP runner-up makes her return later this summer.

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