Olivia Miles is no longer just in the Rookie of the Year conversation. She is having such a remarkable season that she has now entered contention for the WNBA MVP award. The one person standing between her and that honour, of course, is the one and only four-time winner A’ja Wilson.
For WNBA analysts Sabreena Merchant and Zena Keita, Miles still has a little bit of ground to cover before she can credibly edge past Wilson in the race.
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“I think if she can get to 20 points per game, she’s currently at 19.4. 20 is just like a nice round number; that screams MVP. And 20 and 5, to me, is a good number,” Merchant said on Thursday’s episode of their No Offseason podcast.
“If she can get to 20 and six, in terms of assists, that obviously is a huge pop. But I think if she can stay at 25 and a half assists, about 35% from threes, and then has those signature wins to help Minnesota to the number one seed, that’s a very compelling case.”
The way Merchant sees it, Olivia Miles eventually winning the MVP depends on her Minnesota Lynx team. They would need to finish with the best record in the league, and not only that, Miles herself must be the central, driving force behind that achievement.
Miles must deliver MVP-calibre performances in the highest-profile games, especially in a head-to-head matchup against A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces. The best argument for Miles winning the MVP award would be to beat the reigning title holder in a head-to-head clash.
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Looking at how the Lynx season and Olivia Miles’ individual campaign are unfolding, she is very much on track to fulfil most of those requirements. Minnesota currently holds the best record in the WNBA at 19-6. And Olivia Miles has been absolutely central to that.
She’s averaging 19.3 points, 5.7 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game. Miles has also dropped some highlight performances, including her 23-point performance against the Liberty, 21 against the Wings, and a 29-point display against the Aces.
What appears to be the one missing box on Sabreena Merchant’s prescribed MVP résumé, however, is actually leading the Lynx to a victory over the Aces, with an MVP-type performance against A’ja Wilson in the process. Their only encounter this season ended in a 100-97 loss despite Miles’ brilliant display.
There is still time to change that, though. The two sides are scheduled to meet twice more in the regular season. Hopefully, Miles can tick that final box in at least one of those matchups.
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The post “Number Like That Screams”: WNBA Analyst Breaks Down Olivia Miles’ Bid to Catch A’ja Wilson in MVP Race appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
