A RINO—Rookie In Name Only—stampede has kept the ball rolling among freshmen at the tip of the WNBA's 30th season.
The kids are quite all right.
Though one could say it's maturing as it sits in its 30th season, the WNBA continues to be a youth-run league; its ongoing efforts are led by young professionals. As year 30 approaches its first-month mark, several first-year players have wasted no time leaving a lasting first impression.
Of course, there are plenty of early standouts among those chosen on the 2026 WNBA Draft board, but several so-called RINOs—Rookies In Name Only—have come over from international professional endeavors to leave an impact stateside. Those players and more are helping define the premature outputs on the WNBA leaderboard, ones that could foreshadow the playoff bracket and beyond.
While it's worth being patient with a few headlining rookies—top overall choice Azzi Fudd has started to find her professional self with the Dallas Wings after a relatively slow start, for example—several fabulous freshmen have stood out in the early going, ones destined to compete for the top first-year honors ...
Pauline Astier, New York
Having gone pro as a teenager in her native France, Astier has softened the metropolitan medical madness in the early going. A late-preseason injury for Sabrina Ionescu opened the door for expanded opportunities, and Astier has heard her name announced in the starting lineup with the lack of Ducks around.
With the Liberty shipping off draft assets in favor of name-brand veteran talent, Astier has been personified vindication of the Liberty's international work, which previously brought about the rise of WNBA Finals heroine Leonie Fiebich. While New York has been muddily meandered in a .500 start, the athletic Astier has broken out to the tune of 11.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists.
That makes her one of two rookies to group double-digits in scoring with at least three boards and helpers each. She's also shooting over 59 percent from the field, which not only leads active freshmen but ranks seventh in the league overall among women with a minimum of six tries per game. Though Fiebich and Ionescu are destined for a more consistent presence upon their respective returns, newly-minted Liberty boss Chris DeMarco firmly confirmed that Astier will have a role when the team finally faces full strength.
"She's a pro ... just with her ability to see the game get downhill, she's aggressive," DeMarco noted after Astier sank 10 from the field in a May 12 visit to Portland. "She's just a really good basketball player and, obviously, with some injuries and some players not here, she has had to step up, and she delivers."
Pauline Astier tonight 🔥
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) May 15, 2026
• 20 points
• 3 rebounds
• 3/6 3PM
• 7/12 FG
• 22 minutes played pic.twitter.com/OMO1hH2a0K
Gabriela Jaquez, Chicago
The Bruin revolution has had to take a bit of a hibernation: Lauren Betts and Angela Dugalic got stuck behind emerging veterans in Washington. Kiki Rice has been fairly effective for the expansion Toronto Tempo, even if her efforts have been somewhat overshadowed by high-profile veteran draft adds like Marina Mabrey and Brittney Sykes.
Jaquez, however, is the UCLA alumna who has shown the most clear sign of being a franchise cornerstone in the early going. She hasn't been afraid to throw her body around to the tune of 5.3 rebounds a game, second to only the 5.4 that Madina Okot is averaging in a limited role with Atlanta. Jaquez is also lingering among the top defensive rookies, ranking fourth in defensive rating among the freshmen, averaging 10 minutes a game.
Jaquez's opportunities are only set to lengthen in unfortunate circumstances: Chicago recently lost the similarly-skilled Rickea Jackson for the season due to an injury, giving Jaquez an undisputed starring role in what many view as a gap season for the Sky. Jaquez is currently dealing with some injury issues of her own, but is listed as day-to-day.
Gabriela Jaquez tonight 🔥
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) May 18, 2026
• 20 points
• 8 rebounds
• 6/11 FG pic.twitter.com/3wQZr6NlaA
Olivia Miles, Minnesota
Despite a recent surge, Fudd has undeniably needed a minute or two to get her professional legs under her. Miles, chosen second overall in April's draft, is currently engaged in one of the most unusual high-profile rookie postings that the WNBA has seen in quite some time.
Rookies on championship-contending teams often get lost in the fold or at least get the opportunity to learn under a decorated veteran. But the Lynx's early injury reports, headlined by the continued absence of Napheesa Collier and the newly-added season-long loss of RINO breakout Emma Cechova, have forced Miles to grow up fairly quickly.
For the most part, she's been up to the challenge: Miles is making the most out of being the busiest rookie in the W (the only one averaging 30 minutes) by leading all first-years in points (15.0), assists (5.9), steals (1.5), and plus/minus (9.4) entering Thursday's play. It's hardly a shock to see Miles, who could've well seen her name revealed in the draft's top slot, live up to expectations, but she's making a sterling case to stay in school after sticking around for an extra year to make an Elite Eight run with TCU.
"She has something you can't teach, which is just the vision to see something before it's about to happen," Collier said in a post from Cydney Henderson of USA Today. "She knows where people are about to be before they're there, and that's something you have to be born with, and she is. ... It's a lot of pressure being point guard, especially starting point guard in this league, but she's taking it in stride, and I can't wait to get on the court with her."
Olivia Miles tonight 🔥
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) May 28, 2026
• 16 points
• 8 assists
• 5 rebounds
• 6/10 FG pic.twitter.com/WI4aEmv3X2
Jovana Nogic, Phoenix
The Mercury's follow-up to a surprising WNBA Finals run has been rather frozen in the early going following the departure of several headlining veterans. But Nogic, taken under the wing of triple-double queen Alyssa Thomas, should at least be one of the holdovers for the returning good times.
The Serbian Player of the Year owns the top scoring effort among rookies in this young campaign, putting up 27 in just her fourth game on May 15. That was less than a week after Nogic introduced herself to the W with a 19-point, 4-of-5 three-point tally in Phoenix's unexpected 33-point shellacking of their Finals foe Las Vegas on opening day.
To date, Nogic is shooting a blistering 53 percent from three-point range despite trying five extra-pointers per game. It's worth wondering if she'll be called upon to partake in All-Star Weekend's 3-Point Contest, especially considering the recent injury bulletins regarding recent participants Ionescu, Kelsey Plum, and Sami Whitcomb.
Another RINO breakout, Nogic was essentially a figment of the desert's imagination for several seasons. Boosted salaries brought about by the new collective bargaining agreement finally brought her over, and Mercury management couldn't be happier.
“I think this is a player that hasn’t come over because maybe it wasn’t worth it, right? Money-wise, for a lot of these European players, the bump in salary hopefully is a reason for some of these players to start coming over here," head coach Nate Tibbetts remarked after the lashing of Las Vegas. "She’s been someone that our front office has talked about the last couple years … She's had an awesome start. I’m really happy for her.”
I really appreciate Jovana Nogić's patience in PnR, & the pace changes.
— Stephen PridGeon-Garner 🏁 (@StephenPG3) May 28, 2026
Watch her be intentional about the set-up of the angle, then different speeds into the pull-up. pic.twitter.com/mSsPGx80cs
Teja Oblak, Portland
Finally granted a WNBA opportunity at 35 years young, Oblak is looking to stage a Rebekah Gardner-style coup of the All-Rookie for the millennials.
The Fire's fire has been ignited upon Oblak's recent activation: Portland is undefeated in three showings since striking her match, which began with a nine-assist showing in her maiden W voyage. That was earned during Portland's entry for the highest-scoring game in its infantile franchise history, a 99-80 triumph in a de facto expansion bowl in Toronto last weekend, where Oblak became the first woman to help on at least nine baskets in such a debut since Atlanta's Shoni Schimmel in 2014.
In addition to her early prowess in the traditional areas (including a double-figure scoring game off the bench in an upset win in New York earlier this week), Oblak is showing off her prowess in analytics, currently carrying the best net rating among rookies with a minimum of both three games and 15 minutes per game.
It's perhaps a little premature to place a three-game veteran on a list such as this. But when it comes to putting the "V" in MVP, it's hard to ignore what Oblak has done for the Fire's fortunes in the most basic currency of wins and losses.
Teja Oblak on playing “annoying” basketball:#WNBA pic.twitter.com/hnlGmCzhfT
— Geoff Magliocchetti (@GeoffJMags) May 26, 2026
Editor's note: Toronto Tempo's Kiki Rice is another rookie to watch as she's averaging the third-most points among freshmen with 12.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. In her first WNBA season, she's shooting 45% from beyond the arc.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
nice post