With the WNBA season paused for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin, Olivia Miles is making a compelling case for why the transition from college basketball to the professional game can produce immediate stars.
Recent rookies who will represent Team USA at the World Cup, including Rhyne Howard, Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers, have exceeded expectations and set a high standard for newcomers. This season, the second overall pick has raised that bar even further, emerging as the engine of the WNBA’s best team and entering the MVP conversation alongside A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark.
Olivia Miles Leads Rookie of the Year Race
Through 38 games, Miles is averaging 19.7 points and 6.0 assists per game. Both figures lead her team and rank among the top eight marks across the WNBA. She has scored 749 total points, just 20 shy of Caitlin Clark’s all-time rookie record of 769.
With four games remaining, Miles appears poised to establish a new rookie scoring record. Her production has also made the Rookie of the Year award look increasingly certain.
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Miles built an impressive résumé during her collegiate career, which was split between Notre Dame and TCU. Among her achievements, she became the first freshman in men’s or women’s NCAA tournament history to record a triple-double, although she never reached the national championship game.
Miles never faced Clark’s Iowa team in college, but she has no hesitation when assessing Clark’s place in women’s basketball history. In a ranking of the greatest players in NCAA history, Miles placed Clark second behind UConn legend Breanna Stewart.
During a featured media segment after being selected in the draft, Miles was asked to compare historic women’s basketball stars in a bracket-style format. The field was gradually narrowed to a final matchup between Clark and Stewart.
When asked to make the final decision, Miles chose Stewart. “See, this is hard,” Miles explained. “Caitlin has the scoring, the assists. Stewie has four chips and four MVPs. I’m just gonna have to go Stewie just based off her dominance and winning.”
Breanna Stewart’s Championships vs. Caitlin Clark’s Records
Stewart’s statistical résumé makes Miles’ choice difficult to dispute. She finished her college career with a 151-5 record, won four consecutive national championships at UConn and earned the Final Four Most Outstanding Player award four times.
Stewart remains the only player in women’s college basketball history to win that honor in every NCAA tournament appearance of her career.
Clark established a different but equally enduring legacy. She led the Iowa Hawkeyes to consecutive national championship appearances and finished her career as the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer across men’s and women’s basketball, with 3,951 points.
A two-time national player of the year, Clark also holds the all-time NCAA tournament records for total points, assists and three-pointers. Whether the standard is Stewart’s unmatched collection of championships or Clark’s groundbreaking statistical dominance, both players rank among the highest achievers in collegiate basketball history.
Source: www.marca.com
