When a rookie enters the WNBA, the first few games are usually a crash course in adapting to a faster, more physical brand of basketball. That learning curve? It doesn't seem to apply to Olivia Miles. The No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft is already making history—and turning heads—just three games into her professional career.
Miles recently joined elite company by recording 49 points and 21 assists in her first three WNBA appearances, a feat that places her alongside legends like Caitlin Clark, Sue Bird, Candace Parker, and Nikki McCray. In fact, she even broke a record previously held by Clark during a standout performance against the Dallas Wings.
But it's not just the stats that have people talking. It's the way she's earning praise from her veteran teammates. After Miles' third game, guard Courtney Williams didn't hold back in her assessment.
"Oh man, it's been a ball," Williams said in a post-game press conference. "I'm just happy to kind of be back at my natural position, and she's doing a hell of a job. She's the captain of the ship. For her to be a rookie coming in and doing what she's doing? Psh, that girl gonna be a problem. I've been saying it."
Williams knows a thing or two about running the offense. Over the past two seasons with the Minnesota Lynx, she was primarily deployed as the team's point guard—a role that saw her set a franchise record for assists last season with 271 (averaging over six per game). But with Miles taking the reins as the floor general, Williams has been able to slide back to her natural shooting guard position, where she thrives.
This isn't the first time Williams has sung Miles' praises. In a recent interview, the 10-year veteran compared the rookie to one of the league's all-time great point guards.
"I mean, she's a little killer," Williams said. "I told her, 'Look, let me move out your way.' I'm happy to have her, happy to be back at my natural position, and she's out here killing it. This little joker here is like a baby Chelsea Gray. She's gonna be cold."
For fans of the game—and for anyone following the next generation of WNBA stars—Miles is quickly proving that she's not just a player to watch. She's a player who's already changing the game, one assist at a time.
