Minnesota Lynx point guard Olivia Miles has taken the WNBA by storm and is enjoying one of the best rookie seasons in league history. Not only is she a virtual lock to be the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year, she’s also making a strong case to be considered the best rookie in Minnesota professional basketball history. Miles has stiff competition, however, as Minnesota has been blessed with some incredible rookie performers, including nine Rookie of the Year winners between the ABA, NBA, and WNBA. So let’s see where she ranks in my top 10 rookies of all time.
Honorable Mention
Anthony Edwards, Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio, Crystal Dangerfield, Betty Lennox
#10 — Christian Laettner (Wolves)
Fresh off winning an Olympic Gold Medal as the only collegian on the legendary 1992 Dream Team, Laettner had an outstanding rookie season for the Wolves, averaging 18.2 ppg and 8.7 rpg, and earning 1st Team All-Rookie honors. This impressive performance was still not enough to placate many Wolves fans who were still bitter about the team’s bad luck in the 1992 draft lottery. Despite having the best odds of securing the top pick in the draft, the Wolves fell to #3 and had to “settle” for Laettner, missing out on the opportunity to select one of the two franchise-changing centers in the draft – Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning. Both, of course, went on to Hall of Fame careers. For the conspiracy theorists out there, O’Neal claims that David Stern, the NBA Commissioner at the time, contacted him before the draft and asked him if he preferred a warm or cold weather destination – he answered warm and you guessed it, Orlando ended up selecting O’Neal with the 1st pick in the draft.
#9 — Candice Wiggins (Lynx)
No relation to Andrew Wiggins, former Wolves Rookie of the Year, but her father Alan did have a 7-year career in Major League baseball as an infielder for the Orioles and Padres. Candice had a phenomenal rookie season in 2008 and has the unique distinction of being just one of two rookies (DeWanna Bonner is the other) to be named the league’s 6thWoman of the Year. Wiggins averaged 15.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, and 3.0 apg. She finished in the top 20 in the league in scoring and was named to the All-Rookie team. You might be wondering with a year like that how did she not win Rookie of the Year. That honor went to newly inducted Hall of Famer, Candace Parker, who became the only (for now) player in league history to be named Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season.
#8 — Stephon Marbury (Wolves)
The Wolves made a draft day trade in 1996 swapping the rights to future Hall of Famer Ray Allen to acquire the rights to Marbury, who was seen as the perfect point guard to pair with Kevin Garnett. In their first season together, the young tandem showed tremendous promise and led the Wolves to their first playoff berth in franchise history. Marbury had a brilliant rookie season, averaging 16 points and 8 assists per game and finished runner-up to Allen Iverson in the Rookie of the Year voting. Unfortunately, two years later, Marbury forced his way out of Minnesota (in a shocking revelation, he said he didn’t like our weather) shattering any hopes that a Marbury/Garnett foundation would move the Wolves into championship contention.
#7 — Napheesa Collier (Lynx)
Collier earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2019 after one of the best all-around rookie seasons in team history. She averaged 13.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.6 apg, and 1.9 spg. Collier used this as a springboard to an outstanding career with the Lynx and is generally regarded as one of the top 5 players in the game today.
#6 — Karl-Anthony Towns (Wolves)
Many draft experts had Duke big man, Jahlil Okafor, rated as the top player in the 2015 NBA draft. Fortunately, the Wolves avoided disaster and had the wisdom to take KAT with the first overall pick. He was a unanimous selection as the Rookie of the Year after averaging 18.3 ppg, 10.5 rpg, and 1.7 bpg. Okafor, drafted 3rd by the 76ers, had a brief, disappointing career in the NBA. KAT, of course, has developed into a Hall of Fame caliber player who helped lead the Knicks to the title this past season (still hurts to say that as a Wolves fan).
#5 — Seimone Augustus (Lynx)
The Lynx selected this LSU star with the first overall pick in the 2006 draft – a much-needed talent infusion for a struggling franchise. Augustus became the first key building block for what would become the dynasty version of the Lynx that won 4 championships. She was named Rookie of the Year after finishing second in the league in scoring at 21.9 ppg, the second highest mark for a rookie in league history behind only the 22.2 ppg of Comets legend, Cynthia Cooper.
#4 — Maya Moore (Lynx)
With the first overall pick in 2011, the Lynx were fortunate to draft one of the league’s all-time greats in UConn star, Maya Moore. Moore averaged 13.2 ppg and 4.6 rpg and helped the Lynx win their first title. She was named Rookie of the Year and is one of only two players (Cheryl Ford of the Detroit Shock is the other) in league history to win this award and a title in the same season.
#3 — Mel Daniels (Muskies)
In their lone season in Minnesota, the Muskies featured Mel Daniels who enjoyed a phenomenal rookie season. He was named an All-Star, Rookie of the Year and finished 3rdin the voting for the ABA’s MVP during the 1966-67 season. He also made history by becoming the first NBA 1st round draft pick to snub the league and join the upstart ABA instead.
#2 — Elgin Baylor (Lakers)
In 1958-59, Baylor enjoyed one of the best rookie seasons in league history. He averaged 25 ppg and 15 rpg and was named the Rookie of the Year, All-Star Game MVP, and 1stTeam All-NBA. Despite Baylor’s heroics, the team finished below .500 and was swept in the playoffs by the Boston Celtics. Unfortunately for Minnesota fans, the Lakers relocated after the season and Baylor took his talents to Hollywood.
#1 — Olivia Miles (Lynx)
Nicknamed the “Spectacle” as a tribute to her signature rec spec goggles as well as her breathtaking play on the court, Miles is a certified box office attraction and is having a rookie year for the ages — and yes, the best in Minnesota history. She earned a starting spot in the All-Star game and became the fastest player in WNBA history to surpass 600 points and 150 assists, passing Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark, and Cynthia Cooper – elite company. Miles is averaging 20 points and 6 assists per game, both good for top 10 in the league. In addition, she is flirting with a 40/50/90 season and is just one of three players in the WNBA to rank in the top 25 in each of the 3 key shooting metrics – fg, 3pt, and ft percentage (Jackie Young of the Aces and Lynx teammate, Kayla McBride are the others). Miles should be the unanimous choice for the league’s Rookie of the Year, anybody with a decent pair of rec specs can see that. They should also be able to see that she is the league’s MVP, joining Candace Parker as the only players to win both awards in the same season. Most of the WNBA talking heads have A’ja Wilson of the Aces as this year’s MVP and Miles simply in the “conversation.” Well, let’s have that conversation. No disrespect to Wilson, who is an incredible player, but even Bam Adebayo can see Miles is the MVP. While both players have had incredible statistical seasons, Miles gets the edge because winning matters and she has led her team to greater success despite challenging circumstances. The Lynx won the season series with the Aces 2-1 and are currently atop the league’s standings, 5 games ahead of the Aces. This is an amazing feat given the major roster overhaul in the offseason that saw the Lynx lose key players like Bridget Carleton, Jessica Shepard, Alanna Smith, and Natisha Hiedeman and an injury that kept Lynx star Napheesa Collier out of the lineup for more than half the season.
While awards are nice, I’m sure Miles has her sights set on helping the Lynx win the franchise’s record-setting 5th championship.
About the Author
As Hoop Habits’ media contributor, Roger Johnson brings decades of basketball expertise to his articles. Having served as a marketing executive at Wells Fargo & Company and a content writer for Ultimate Hoops, Roger’s true passion has always been basketball. With experience as a collegiate player at Moorhead State University, coach, and parent of successful players, Roger offers unique insights into the game. His dedication shows through his Minnesota Timberwolves season tickets, University of Minnesota basketball support, and attendance at over 3,000 basketball games throughout his lifetime.