The WNBA is known for its physicality, but Olivia Miles isn’t impressed just yet. Making her preseason debut for the Minnesota Lynx, Miles got her first real taste of the league’s intensity in a win over the Washington Mystics. The game was fast, physical, and competitive, but in her eyes, it still didn’t tell the full story.
Speaking in her postgame interview, Miles was candid about what she felt the game did and didn’t prove. “I don’t think this game was a fair test just because they’re a bunch of young rooks too. So it kind of was like playing against college girls who I literally were just playing against,” she said.
And as she pointed out, the experience didn’t feel drastically removed from the college game she had just left behind. For Olivia Miles, the real test is still to come, and she made clear she’s already hungry for it. “I’m excited to play like a vet, experienced, tested team,” she said.
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And of course, her words were hard to argue with. The Washington Mystics did indeed take the floor with a remarkably young, rookie-heavy lineup. They started four rookies apart from the others who came in from the benc. They started with No. 4 draft pick Lauren Betts, as well as Angela Dugalić, Cotie McMahon, and Georgia Amoore. The only non-rookie in the starting five was Sonia Citron. Citron herself was only entering her second season in the league.
That said, Miles was still willing to give credit where it was due. “But nonetheless the physicality, the intensity was at an all time high, they came out very strong. I thought Cotie was really great, setting the tone physically,” she acknowledged. Even so, she was equally honest about her own team’s performance. Despite coming away with a 77-66 victory, she didn’t feel the Lynx played anywhere near their best basketball either.
And she wasn’t wrong, we did see the Mystics show flashes of brilliance.
The Mystics came out of the gates playing stifling defense. They forced Miles into four first-half turnovers, setting the tone early. By halftime, the Lynx had already committed 13 turnovers and were shooting just 36 percent from the field. Interestingly, it was the Mystics who headed into halftime with a 40–36 lead, powered by impressive contributions from rookies Cotie McMahon and Lauren Betts.
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Cotie McMahon had 11 points, while Lauren Betts added 8 points and 3 rebounds. But the second half told a completely different story. The Washington Mystics went ice cold. They didn’t score their first point until the 4:28 mark of the third quarter, a free throw from Rori Harmon. That finally snapped a brutal 15–0 run by the Minnesota Lynx that had carried over from the end of the first half. From there, it only got worse. The Mystics were outscored 26–7 in the third quarter, shooting a dismal 1-for-14 from the field.
That’s exactly what Olivia Miles was pointing to.
The Washington Mystics, in their current state, can’t really serve as a true litmus test for players trying to gauge the physical level of the league. Just look at the numbers.
Sydney Johnson’s side are are incredibly young, averaging just 22.6 years of age with only 0.7 years of WNBA experience. For comparison, the average college player in 2025–26 was 21.9. They have 11 rookies in their team and you can expect another season where the Mystics will most likely languish near the bottom of the table but will be a surprise package for many teams.
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To make matters worse, the Washington Mystics were without some crucial pieces. Shakira Austin, their biggest offseason move, is currently in China after re-signing on a three-year max deal starting at $1.19 million. And her absence was clearly felt.
Austin was one of only five players last season, alongside Napheesa Collier, Azurá Stevens, Breanna Stewart, and A’ja Wilson, to average at least 12.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.0 block, and 1.0 steal per game. For a young roster already finding its footing, missing that kind of two-way presence was always going to hurt.
They were also without Michaela Onyenwere, who was sidelined with a left leg injury, while Kiki Iriafen missed out with a right leg issue. That only compounded the problems for the Washington Mystics, who struggled to sustain the pressure from Olivia Miles and co. And that’s likely to be a recurring theme for this young Mystics side, holding firm early, but finding it tough to match the consistency and composure of more experienced teams over four quarters.
But it would be unfair to pin the Minnesota Lynx’s win solely on who the Mystics were missing. As Olivia Miles sees it, the team did a lot of good things, and as they move into more intense, high-stakes games, they’re only going to get better.
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The Lynx themselves were far from full strength, missing Napheesa Collier, Natasha Howard, Emma Čechová, Dorka Juhász, Anastasiia Olairi Kosu, and Kayla McBride. And yet, they still managed to hold the Mystics to just one three-pointer in the second half. In the end, it became a clash of styles, a small-ball lineup going up against a team built around size. And it was the Lynx guards who ultimately dictated the game and came out on top.
Miles herself finished the night with 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. That’s a decent debut by most measures, but she clearly views as just the floor. Her performance ceiling is still very much untapped. And she’s already setting her sights on the kind of battle-tested opposition that will bring the very best out of her and this Lynx team.
Olivia Miles Turns Up the Flair in Practice All to Impress Courtney Williams
Right from the moment Olivia Miles walked onto her first practice court with the Minnesota Lynx, she’s been making quite an impression. In fact, it took just one day of pickup for veteran guard Courtney Williams to see everything she needed to see. “I went into the locker room, I was like, yo, you cold… like she’s gonna be a problem,” Williams said.
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That instant chemistry between the two hasn’t gone unnoticed either. Head coach Cheryl Reeve revealed that Courtney Williams has taken a particular liking to Miles’ playmaking abilities. The dynamic between them has also quickly become one of the more entertaining subplots of Lynx practice. As Reeve pointed out, Williams, who she described as the team’s hype person, is almost always going off, firing Miles up, and that energy in turn gets Miles even more locked in and excited to perform.
But there’s a fine line between hype and distraction, and Reeve has had to walk it carefully. “Courtney is everybody’s hype person. So sometimes I just have to tell her to let Live (Olivia Miles) kinda concentrate. Because you start hyping her and all of a sudden passes are flying all over the place because she’s trying to get Courtney excited.” She also noted that both Courtney Williams and Kayla McBride have really taken Miles under their wings, giving the rookie a strong foundation of veteran support to lean on as she finds her footing in the league.
The Lynx will have another opportunity to build on that growing on-court connection when they host the Toronto Tempo at Target Center on Friday, May 1. Another preseason game, another chance to sharpen the chemistry. And if things continue trending the way they have in practice, that bond could prove crucial when regular season games start.
The post “Don’t Think This Game Was a Fair Test”: Olivia Miles Addresses Physicality On Her Lynx Debut vs Mystics appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
