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‘Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing’: Olivia Miles Reflects After Unanimous Rookie of the Year Honor

Grant Afseth September 28, 2026Fact checked by: Sara Jane Gamelli Be First

Minnesota Lynx guard Olivia Miles was unanimously named the 2026 Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year on Monday. She received all 74 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Olivia Miles, Minnesota Lynx 2026 WNBA Rookie of the Year
Photo credit: Shawn Mclurkin, Ballislife

Five players had won the award unanimously before her. Candace Parker did it in 2008, Tina Charles in 2010, Elena Delle Donne in 2013, A'ja Wilson in 2018, and Aliyah Boston in 2023.

Paige Bueckers of the Dallas Wings won last year with 70 of 72 votes. Washington Mystics guard Sonia Citron received the other two.

The second overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, Miles started all 40 of her appearances for Minnesota. She averaged 19.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists in 31.0 minutes. Her shooting line finished at 49.2% from the field, 38.8% from 3-point range, and 87.0% from the free-throw line.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert presented the trophy at Target Center in a joint ceremony with Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, who was named Coach of the Year for a record fifth time the same day. Reeve received 40 of the 74 votes for her award.

A Family Affair

Miles grew up in Phillipsburg, N.J., and played at Notre Dame and TCU before Engelbert, a fellow New Jersey native, read her name on draft night. Engelbert said the skill, confidence, and poise Miles showed as a rookie had turned many across the league into fans of Miles and the Lynx.

"I knew when I called your name on draft night, I would be standing here," Engelbert said. "I really did."

Miles first received the trophy at a Lynx team dinner, handed to her by her parents on a night the team spent looking back on the season.

"I was completely surprised," Miles said. "They kind of tricked me and said that they weren't going to be able to come and I was a little upset. And then I don't know where they came out with the trophy.

"And it was just a special moment on a special night," Miles continued. "We're celebrating a team dinner, reflecting back on all the great memories we had this season. And then to see my parents who have truthfully been my rocks through everything, all the hardship that I've gone through, all the highs and lows, and to see them holding something that I had won meant so much to me and my family."

Olivia Miles' Rookie Records

Her 790 points set the WNBA's single-season rookie record, according to the league. Caitlin Clark held the previous mark with 769 in 2024.

Miles also set the rookie record with 22 games of at least 20 points. Seimone Augustus had 20 in 2006.

On June 4 against the Golden State Valkyries, she made eight 3-pointers, a WNBA single-game rookie record. Against the Phoenix Mercury on July 13, she scored 33 points, the most by a rookie in Lynx history.

Miles reached 500 points and 150 assists in her 26th game, the fastest in league history. Bueckers had done it in 28 games last season.

Her 239 assists ranked second among rookies in WNBA history. Clark had 337 in 2024.

Among all players this season, Miles ranked eighth in scoring. She was seventh in assists per game.

She won all four Kia Rookie of the Month awards and was voted a starter for Team Spoon at the All-Star Game in Chicago in July. The league lists her as the 11th rookie in WNBA history to start an All-Star Game.

Minnesota finished 33-11 and earned the No. 1 seed for the second straight season. Napheesa Collier missed the first 27 games while recovering from offseason surgery on both ankles.

Reeve's roster had been "basically decimated in free agency and expansion" before the season, she said while accepting her own award. The Lynx never set out to finish first or collect awards. Reeve thanked the players before anyone else because without players, coaches are nothing.

"The rookie was pretty solid this season," Reeve said. "Can't understate the impact of Olivia Miles. Again, great players making great plays and leading us to greatness. There's no question that's what this season was."

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Learning Under Cheryl Reeve

Miles came in as a rookie at point guard, a position that is responsible for so much, on a team led by three captains Reeve brought back after free agency: Collier, Kayla McBride, and Courtney Williams.

"I never actually knew what I was doing," Miles explained. "I kind of fake it till you make it. And obviously I have Hall of Famers on staff and future Hall of Famers that I'm playing with. And so I have no choice but to be curious and to ask them what the heck is going on at times, and Phee and Mac know what I'm talking about. But yeah, they've guided me in such amazing ways and have really allowed me to have this success early on."

Reeve said Williams handed Miles the keys to the team and was happy to have a rookie who wanted to guide it.

"I think what I was reminded of with Liv is the importance of letting greatness be great and not sort of getting in the way," Reeve explained, "guiding, but not getting in the way, sharing information and then letting her put her own stamp on it. I think that's what I enjoyed about this season."

A Perfect Pair: Miles and Reeve

Reeve gave Miles all the credit for the humility she brought to the Land of 10,000 Lakes. 

"I think for a player like Liv to flourish, one, I think we operate similarly mentally on how we see the game, how we process the game," Reeve continued. "Thank you to the parents for that. We talk about if-then-else statements, and that's our happy space. That's a computer science term.

"I think it was important for me to have someone that's humble, and she is humble, right?" Reeve added. "So important for our group. That's our culture. That's when we're at our very best is when we have humility, and the curiosity is unique. I think a lot of players come in feeling like they know and that they don't need maybe to be told or have others around them sort of guide them. And so every time I said humility and curiosity, it's exactly what made her great, and that reminded me how special a player can be when they have that."

Reeve's Standard of Excellence

Reeve is 397-201 in 17 seasons with Minnesota. She became the WNBA's all-time leader in regular-season coaching wins on July 8 against the Connecticut Sun. Reeve trusted Miles to play through adversity as a rookie, which took that weight off her shoulders.

"I always knew there was a standard of excellence, but you really don't understand until you're in it," Miles said. "And you're going through those stretches where you may lose two in a row, three in a row. And the standard doesn't change and the let up doesn't change. And I don't know if I expected that. But the reality of it is that that's what's allowed her to win so much. And it's pushed me to be a great player and want to be detail oriented and surgical and everything that I'm doing."

Miles also praised Reeve for giving her the freedom to learn from her mistakes as a rookie.

"So even though it's my first time, I'm learning a lot and I truly think that her method to her madness, what she refers to it as, will lead to success if we trust in it," Miles continued. "So I don't know what I expected coming here. I knew it was going to be hard. I didn't know it was going to be this hard. I didn't think I'd have the opportunity I had right away. So I kind of just took that and ran with it.

"And then she's honestly given me a lot of grace as well through my mess ups and mistakes and learning as a rookie," Miles added. "So as I'm getting more adjusted to the expectations, I'm sure I'll get a harder version of Cheryl. But as of now, she's been great for me."

Game 2 Against the New York Liberty

Reeve's four championships are tied for the most by a WNBA head coach, and the Lynx are chasing a record fifth. Her teams lock in on the wins for the day.

"I just want to win tomorrow," Reeve said. "That's the future of this franchise. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. And so the future for Liv is bright tomorrow, I guess."

The award comes with $15,000 and a trophy. Miles said she would not be in Minnesota without Reeve picking her on draft night, and that the Lynx would not win as many games without all of them.

"I don't really focus on awards and things of that nature," Miles said. "It's something that comes along with the process of handling your business every day. And Cheryl says this a lot when you handle the details and you look up and the score is higher than the other teams, then you did something right.

"So focusing on the little details and at the end of the day, if I get an award for it, that means I led my team to a lot of wins and we're having a good time," Miles noted. "So it's really easy when you just kind of focus, keep the main thing, the main thing, and then the awards will all come. And that's kind of happened."

New York won Game 1 of the best-of-three first-round series 91-75 on Sunday at Target Center. Miles finished with 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 1 assist on 3-of-12 shooting. Breanna Stewart had 34 points and 12 rebounds for the eighth-seeded Liberty.

Game 2 is Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET in New York on USA Network. A Game 3, if necessary, would be Thursday at Target Center.

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