put Olivia Miles at the top of its WNBA games today build-around list, and the choice landed with the Minnesota Lynx at 15-4. The 23-year-old rookie point guard has become the center of a team that has held the league's best record while Napheesa Collier has not played this season.
Miles has backed up the ranking with production across the board. She ranks 10th in the league in scoring, eighth in assists, second in win shares and sixth in defensive rating, a spread that explains why she is being treated as more than a hot start.
Minnesota Lynx make the case
The Lynx have needed that kind of two-way output while Collier remains out after offseason ankle surgery. Collier is a five-time All-Star and a former Defensive Player of the Year, and she is turning 30 this season, which is why her absence leaves a real gap in any franchise-building argument.
That gap is where Miles has gained ground. A rookie usually has to choose between looking like a scorer, a distributor or a defender; she is showing up in all three categories, and Minnesota's 15-4 record gives the ranking a hard number behind it.
and the build-around question
The ranking sits inside a broader franchise exercise that has already produced other clear names. Paige Bueckers received 33% of the vote in the WNBA GM Survey, while Caitlin Clark and A'ja Wilson tied for second at 20% and Dominique Malonga finished third at 13%.
That makes Miles' placement sharper, not softer. Wilson still owns the league's scoring lead at 25.7 points per game and has already stacked four MVP awards, three championships, three Defensive Player of the Year awards, two Finals MVP awards, two scoring titles and two Olympic gold medals, yet the current build-around answer in this ranking is the rookie in Minnesota.
The question now is whether that answer holds once Collier returns. For now, Miles has turned a temporary opening into a franchise argument that is backed by a league-best record, top-10 scoring, top-10 assists and elite efficiency measures on both ends.
