Olivia Miles Rookie Stat Comparison Shows How High Caitlin Clark Set the Bar

Comparing the rookie season stats of Caitlin Clark and Olivia Miles is an interesting exercise, for more reasons than one.

Minnesota Lynx guard Olivia Miles (5) | Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Minnesota Lynx rookie point guard Olivia Miles is having an exceptional rookie season and has immediately become one of the league's best point guards.

In fact, her success is sparking comparisons with the rookie year that Indiana Fever star guard Caitlin Clark produced in 2024. And while both players' respective rookie stat lines are extraordinary, Clark has an edge in several metrics, while Miles wins in others.

Through 12 games, Miles is averaging 17.8 points, 6.3 assists, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game. Clark, on the other hand, averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game. Therefore, Clark has the edge over Miles in both points and assists per game.

However, there are several other factors to consider when comparing these two rookie campaigns. One is that Clark averaged 35.4 minutes per game compared to 30.7 for Miles. Therefore, Miles is actually averaging more points per minute played (0.58) than Clark did (.542). Plus, Clark had 5.6 turnovers per game while Miles has 3 turnovers per game right now.

Shooting metrics also tell an interesting story. Miles is shooting 53.2% from the field, while Clark shot 41.7% from the field as a rookie. Miles' three-point percentage is 37.1%, while Clark's was 34.4%, although Clark took and made way more threes than Miles did. Miles also has the slight edge in free-throw percentage (91.2% compared to 90.6%), although both are excellent.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

While it might be natural to try to use these stats to decide who has produced a better rookie season to this point, the bottom line is that both players had excellent starts to their professional careers (as Paige Bueckers also did in 2025).

More than anything else, this stat comparison shows that Clark set an extremely high bar for anybody who comes after her, because Miles' success to this point would otherwise be seen as extraordinary. And the fact that both now have someone to compare to proves that the WNBA is in good hands at the guard position.

How Will Napheesa Collier's Return Impact Olivia Miles' Stats?

Miles' stats have been great to this point in the year. However, the season is only about 25% over, which means there's plenty of time for her numbers to either increase or decrease.

And the fact that Minnesota is still awaiting the return of star forward Napheesa Collier, who is expected to make her debut sometime in the next month or so after surgeries on both ankles in the offseason, will presumably impact Miles' output.

But the question is whether Collier's being back will help or hinder Miles' individual stats. On one hand, Collier could take shots away from Miles, thus limiting her scoring. Or Miles having another elite player in the offense could create more assists and more scoring opportunities, since defenses must focus more on Collier.

Regardless, the Lynx (who are 10-2) will be in an even better spot once Collier is back. And fans can't wait to see what she and Miles might do together.