Olivia Miles named 2026 WNBA Rookie of the Year: Lynx guard unanimously wins honor after historic season

The Spectacle had a spectacular first season in Minnesota and will likely receive First Team All-WNBA honors as well

Sep 28, 2026 at 10:26 am ET • 2 min read

Minnesota Lynx guard Olivia Miles was named the unanimous 2026 WNBA Rookie of the Year on Monday. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, Miles put together one of the best rookie seasons in league history and is the sixth Lynx player to win the honor, joining the likes of Napheesa Collier, Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus. 

Miles received all 74 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters, becoming the first player since Aliyah Boston in 2023 to win Rookie of the Year unanimously. 

Miles averaged 19.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, six assists and 1.3 steals on 49.2/38.8/87 shooting splits, with a 61% true shooting that was 4.9% above league average. She led all rookies in scoring and assists, and finished eighth and seventh, respectively, in those categories. 

In just her 10th career game, Miles knocked down eight 3-pointers to break Caitlin Clark's record for the most 3s in a game by a rookie, and she never stopped making history. She was the fastest player ever to 400 points, 100 rebounds and 100 assists, smashed the Lynx rookie records for points and assists and also broke Clark's mark for the most points (790) in a season by a rookie.

To no surprise, Miles swept the Rookie of the Month honors. She also became the 11th rookie in WNBA history to be named an All-Star starter, and will likely be named to the All-WNBA First Team when the honor is announced later this fall. 

The Lynx crashed out of the 2025 playoffs in the semifinals after Collier went down with a gruesome ankle injury. She eventually needed surgery on both ankles in the offseason, and didn't return until late July. The Lynx also lost six rotation players from last season's team, and expectations were fairly low heading into the season. 

But thanks in large part to Miles, the Lynx got off to a 10-2 start and never looked back. They held the No. 1 seed from July 12 onward, and finished 33-11 to clinch the best record and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs for the second season in a row. 

WNBA playoffs winners and losers: Breanna Stewart, A'ja Wilson have historic Game 1s; Liberty upset No. 1 Lynx

Jack Maloney

The Lynx entered the playoffs as the favorites to win the title -- something they haven't done since 2017 -- but were stunned at home by the New York Liberty in Game 1 of their best-of-three first-round series on Sunday. Miles struggled in the game, going 3 for 12 from the field with 11 points, eight rebounds and one assist.

The Lynx will now travel to Brooklyn for Game 2 on Tuesday, needing a win to keep their season alive.