Olivia Miles continues to show why she’s among the future superstars in the WNBA, as she just picked up a significant career-first honor with the Minnesota Lynx.
The league recognized its WNBA Players of the Week on Tuesday, with the New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart earning the award for the Eastern Conference, and Miles receiving the award for the Western Conference.
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Stewart has been there multiple times before during her career, which began 10 years ago with the Seattle Storm. She received it for the first time this season on May 19, as the Liberty are once again looking like strong contenders for the championship.
However, Miles has not, making her first recognition an extra impressive feat for the talented rookie from TCU. According to the Lynx, she averaged 22 points, 7.7 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.3 steals across the past week.
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In an X post, the Minnesota Lynx called it “Another Accolade for the Rook,” as they celebrated Miles as Player of the Week, something notable Western Conference stars A’Ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, and Jessica Shepard earned in this season’s previous weeks.
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In 2024, a former rookie by the name of Caitlin Clark earned Player of the Week honors three times, mostly during the end of the Indiana Fever’s season.
Miles winning the award comes as her team has played well in the absence of last year’s WNBA MVP contender, Napheesa Collier, who continues to sit out this season with an injury.
Minnesota is currently a league-best 9-2 without Collier, and on a seven-game winning streak. Credit goes to Miles for her impressive performance in these first 11 games. As a rookie, she currently ranks 13th in the WNBA in scoring average, sixth in assists, and 10th in steals.
One has to think Miles probably wouldn’t achieve these sorts of numbers as a rookie if Collier were healthy and playing, as she’s also claimed Player of the Week multiple times in her career. However, she’s showing her capabilities early.
With Stewart also among WNBA stars to claim Player of the Week multiple times, Miles can look to her, Wilson, and Collier as some of the league’s model stars for where she wants her career to go. Stewart earned the league’s MVP Award twice, to go with numerous other accolades, including seven All-Star appearances and three championships.
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And let’s not forget that much was made about Azzi Fudd going as the first overall pick to the Dallas Wings, rather than Miles. Fudd, while still very talented in her rookie season, was coming off the bench and nowhere near as productive in her team’s games so far.
The Wings are currently fourth in the WNBA standings at 7-3, though, so they may still believe they made the best pick for their roster.
It seems like an incredibly good fortune for the Lynx that they picked second and can dominate like they are without Collier on the court. The league named her WNBA Rookie of the Month in May, and she could be on pace to claim it a second time.
While it’s still early in Miles’ career, receiving this major recognition can surely inspire her to continue stepping up her play, helping her team win games, and achieving further greatness in the WNBA.
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For more about the WNBA, head over to Newsweek Sports.
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