Cheryl Reeve Makes Compelling MVP Case for Olivia Miles
Olivia Miles led the Minnesota Lynx to a 94-84 win against the Washington Mystics with 24 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals. It was her nineteenth 20-point game of the season and her third consecutive one.
Miles is one of just four players in the WNBA who average at least five assists and 20 points per game. The others are Kelsey Plum who has only played 16 games this season, Caitlin Clark, and Paige Bueckers. Miles is the runaway favorite for Rookie of the Year, especially now that Azzi Fudd will miss the rest of the season with a knee issue, but it doesn’t stop there. Miles has been one of the best players in the entire league. She is a legitimate MVP candidate.
“Well, you have a 31-and-7 team with six games remaining if my math is right,” Cheryl Reeve said about Miles’s MVP case after the win over the Mystics, per a video on the Lynx’s YouTube channel. “If Olivia Miles doesn’t play, we’re not 31 and 7, and, so, to me, MVP awards should go to teams that are at the top, especially if that player, if she’s not out there, we have a hard time being where we are.”
Minnesota has the best record in the W this season with a five-game lead over the second-placed Golden State Valkyries. The most productive player on the best team in the league certainly deserves strong MVP consideration, and there’s no denying that Miles has been the key to the Lynx’s success. After several offseason departures and news that Napheesa Collier would miss at least half the season after double ankle surgery, the Lynx were expected to take a significant step backwards. Miles changed the team’s trajectory.
Only one WNBA rookie has ever been named MVP
Candace Parker retired with two regular-season MVPs on her resume. One of those came in 2008, her rookie season with the Los Angeles Sparks. She averaged 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.3 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game while leading the Sparks to a 20-14 record and the Western Conference Finals.
After 16 seasons and three championships, Parker is one of the greatest players ever to play in the WNBA. Just having a chance to accomplish something only she has done is an honor and proof of Olivia Miles’s immense talent.
Let’s not forget about A’ja Wilson
After years of bigs and forwards dominating the MVP race, guards are finally breaking into the conversation. Miles, Caitlin Clark, and Kelsey Mitchell all have legitimate cases this year, and Paige Bueckers will be a constant in the conversation soon as well. Moreover, Kelsey Plum was playing like an MVP before she was injured.
And yet, A’ja Wilson is still the best player in the world. She is averaging 25.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2 blocks while flirting with a 50-40-90 season. She leads the W in points and blocks per game as well as in 30-point games. Wilson has scored 30 or more points in eleven games this season, including a 45-point-performance in a 101-94 win against the Connecticut Sun. The next-highest number is six, from Marina Mabrey and Kelsey Mitchell.
Wilson is putting up MVP numbers, and the award is hers to lose. Still, Miles is proving a worthy challenger for the reigning MVP, and team success is her biggest asset in comparison to Wilson and the 25-13 Las Vegas Aces.
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Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.