As we near the end of the WNBA regular season, the Dallas Wings haven’t looked as good as they did before the WNBA All-Star break. After the season resumed following the July 25 All-Star Game, the Wings have lost their momentum, winning just two of their last five games, and one key player who has been sidelined during this period is Azzi Fudd. While Fudd has undoubtedly showcased her talent, first WNBA analyst Robin Lundberg, and now The Athletic’s senior WNBA reporter and insider, Annie Costabile, has expressed that Oliva Miles deserved the No. 1 draft pick spot.
Despite Oliva Miles coming in as the No. 2 pick, she has gone on to shine with the Lynx and isn’t just a Rookie of the Year candidate but has found herself in the MVP conversation as well. Speaking on the latest episode of Yahoo Sports Daily, Costabile explained why she thinks so.
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“Listen, check the receipts. I was saying since the very beginning, Olivia Miles should have been the number one overall pick. And I think we’re seeing why now. And if you’re considering Dallas making a selection based on the best player available, that was Olivia and is Olivia.
“I think when you consider, you know, the fit with Olivia in Dallas, it looks like she ended up in a better situation in Minnesota, not only positionally, but also because of the talent on that roster. That’s a veteran roster, and it has allowed Olivia to shine even more.”
However, Costabile isn’t the only one who made this observation. While speaking about the Dallas Wings on Wednesday, Lundberg reacted to the news of Fudd Missing her fifth game and raised a similar concern.
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“I think Olivia Miles and Paige Bueckers could have played together because Paige could slide into the shooting guard role with Olivia Miles playing the point guard role. And then there’s the injury history with Fudd, which eventually starts to become concerning. She obviously missed a lot of time during her time at UConn.”
If we compare Miles and Fudd’s stats, the Lynx rookie blows the No. 1 overall pick out of the water. Fudd is averaging 13.1 points, 1.8 assists, and 1.7 rebounds this season. A perfectly fine record for a rookie, but nothing that screams generational. On the other hand, Miles has averaged 20.0 points, 6.2 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game, which further cements who is going to win Rookie of the Year.
Costabile is right about Miles being a better fit in the Lynx than with the Wings, who already had an anchorwoman in Paige Bueckers. So if Miles had been picked first, we can safely presume that she would not have gotten the ball as much as she has now, and thus, would not have been the player she has become over the course of this season.
We can also see Miles’ determination to be the best, as she downplayed any injury concerns after rolling her ankle against the Golden State Valkyries and went on to participate in the game against the Washington Mystics. There, she did what she does best and recorded 24 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals as she led the Lynx to a 94-84 victory.
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Now directly competing with the best the WNBA has to offer, the final stretch of the MVP race between A’ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, Breanna Stewart, and Miles will be an interesting one to follow along, as every game matters from here on.
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The post “Check the Receipts”: Even the Athletic’s Insider Opposes Wings’ No. 1 Pick of Azzi Fudd as Olivia Miles Makes Strong MVP Case appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
