WNBA Rookie Rankings: Olivia Miles Makes a Case for MVP

This edition of the WNBA Rookie Rankings was a challenging one, as injuries have impacted multiple players over the last couple of weeks. The most notable one involves Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd, who announced on Wednesday that she will undergo arthroscopic surgery on her right knee and miss the remainder of the season.

Azzi Fudd’s season-ending surgery means she drops out of the rankings. However, she deserves a shoutout for being a consistent member of our top five. She ends her season averaging 13.1 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.7 steals per game while being one of the Wings’ strongest defenders. She also became the first rookie to ever win the WNBA 3-point shooting contest during All-Star weekend.

Many other top rookies of the class of 2027 have unfortunately been affected by injuries, including the top Rookie of the Year candidate Olivia Miles, who appeared to tweak her ankle on Wednesday. With players coming in and out of the lineups, deciding how to rank them is a balance between looking at performances before their injuries and how they have done upon their return.

Ranking the Top 5 WNBA Rookies

5. Kiki Rice

Kiki Rice is back on the list after being sidelined with a left ankle sprain. Before her injury, she was one of the top rookies to watch. August has been a good month for her, with 19 points on 55.6% shooting from the field, including going 3 of 4 from beyond the arc against Washington. Although her chances at winning Rookie of the Year are slim, she has the potential to move higher in these rankings before the regular season is over.

4. Flau’jae Johnson

Flau’jae Johnson suffered a left ankle sprain against Portland on Aug. 8 and missed the following two games. She returned on Aug. 16 against Chicago but only scored five points in 30 minutes while making two out of seven field goal attempts. Despite that less-than-ideal shooting night, Johnson got to keep the No. 4 ranking this week because she deserves the benefit of the doubt since she was coming back from an injury and might not have been 100% yet.

3. Awa Fam

Awa Fam hasn’t been the most consistent rookie, but she returned to our rankings this week after some very efficient performances. She scored 20 points on 7 of 12 shooting, including 4 of 8 from beyond the arc, along with nine rebounds against Portland on Aug. 14. Fam was coming off the bench, which she said gave her an opportunity to read more of the game early on and therefore know what to expect with the opponent’s offense and defense once she checked in.

2. Sydney Taylor

Picking the No. 2 player was particularly difficult, because although Taylor had this spot earlier this month, she missed five consecutive games due to a left groin injury and has only been back for one game. She was only on the court for 17 minutes in her return against the Liberty on Aug. 18 and scored 9 points while shooting 3 of 9 from the field and 1 of 6 from beyond the arc.

1. Olivia Miles

Olivia Miles officially moved into third place for most points scored by a rookie in WNBA history, surpassing Paige Bueckers and A’ja Wilson. After scoring 20 points during Wednesday’s 77-66 win against the Golden State Valkyries, Miles sits at 676 points. She has seven regular season games remaining as well as the postseason, because the Lynx already clinched their spot. She’s generating highlight reels every game and is currently second behind Wilson in MVP odds (+1000 at FanDuel).

Miles is averaging 19.9 points per game, which means she is well on track to surpass Caitlin Clark’s rookie record of 769 points. However, she had to leave Wednesday’s game early after she accidentally stepped on teammate Napheesa Collier’s foot while defending a pass. Miles appeared to injure her ankle, but it is currently not known how serious it is and if she will miss any games.