Olivia Miles' Pursuit of Caitlin Clark Rookie Record Comes With Caveat
Minnesota Lynx star guard Olivia Miles has scored 242 points to this point in her 2026 rookie campaign. If she continues at this current pace, Miles will finish the season with 819 points, and thus best the record that Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark set for total points scored in a rookie season (769) in 2024.
However, Miles being on pace to break Clark's rookie record also comes with a caveat. When Clark was a rookie, there were 40 games in a WNBA regular season. There are now 44 games in a regular season, and those four extra games are what give Miles the edge. The same advantage was true for Clark, who passed Seimone Augustus' total that was set in a 34-game season.
If one tallies points per game (which is a better objective scoring statistic to measure, given the difference in games played), Clark's 19.2 points per game still beats the 18.6 points per game that Miles has amassed to this point.
Granted, Miles only being 0.6 points per game away from Clark's points per game tally suggests that Miles has plenty of time to increase her scoring and not only break the total points record but also pass her in points per game. But it will be much more difficult for her to do so than to set that total points mark.
Assists are another interesting metric to measure when comparing Clark and Miles' rookie seasons. While Miles' 5.8 assists per game are impressive, it pales in comparison to the 8.4 assists per game that Clark produced. And while Miles' assist tally will likely increase once superstar forward Napheesa Collier returns from injury, she's still far behind the total assists Clark had, despite Clark having four fewer regular season games.
Miles is on pace for 261 total assists (which would put her at No. 2 overall in the stat), while Clark had 337 in her rookie regular season.
Why Olivia Miles-Caitlin Clark Comparisons Are a Net Positive
Some fans might get irked that all of Miles' rookie season success will be compared to what Clark did two seasons ago, along with what Paige Bueckers did in 2025.
Yet, not only is comparison the nature of sports discourse, but Miles getting compared to the best rookie season in the sport's history should be seen as a compliment, even if she's on track to come up short of most records. It shows that Miles is on pace to become a perennial All-Star and face of the league.
Not to mention that Miles' pursuit of these records adds a fascinating element to follow as the season progresses, especially as it nears a close and the chances of her actually breaking some of these records become clearer.
In other words, the fact that another rookie can even compete with what Caitlin Clark did in 2024 is a win for women's basketball.
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Grant Young covers women’s basketball for Women’s Fastbreak and Indiana Fever On SI. His coverage centers on league trends and the growth of women’s basketball, both on and off the court. He also creates digital content focused on the sport’s biggest moments and personalities.
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