How much was Olivia Miles’ record-making rookie season attributabe to Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, with Reeve putting the precocious point guard in position to thrive and, ultimately, lead the Lynx to the best record in the league?
Or, how much credit does Miles deserve for arriving in Minnesota ready to be the next-in-line face of the franchise, giving Reeve the superstar she needed to avoid a gap year and chase championship No. 5?
A lot and a lot.
The successes of Reeve, Miles and the Lynx are inextricable.
That’s why Reeve is 2026 WNBA Coach of the Year, and Miles is the unanimous 2026 WNBA Rookie of the Year.
A fifth COY award further confirms Cheryl Reeve’s all-time standing
Reeve takes the league’s top coaching honor for a fifth time, having previously won in 2011, 2016, 2020 and 2024. The award serves as an appropriate exclamation point on a season in which Reeve also became the WNBA’s winningest head coach, securing a league-record 380th win on July 8.
Reeve earned 40 of 74 first-place votes, with last season’s winner, the Golden State Valkyries’ Natalie Nakase, coming in second with 20 votes. Washington Mystics head coach Sydney Johnson finished third with 14 votes.
Olivia Miles was a unanimously excellent and record-breaking rookie
The No. 2 pick in the 2026 WNBA, Miles captured all 74 votes, making her the unanimous Rookie of the Year.
The honor is unsurprising, as Miles swept every Rookie of the Month award and was an All-Star starter. She led all rookies in points, points per game, field goals made, defensive rebounds, assists and assists per game. She also set the WNBA rookie record for total points, in addition to a number Lynx franchise rookie records.
Those stats affirm that substance behind Miles’ style: Her next-generation brand of bold point guard play, where visionary passes, cruises to the rim and audacious shot-making combine into an exciting and often-unstoppable Spectacle.
