It’s Olivia Miles, then everyone else.
Minnesota’s superstar rookie has dominated the conversation that surrounds her draft class, and for good reason. She’s been the engine for the Lynx, who sit atop the WNBA with a 28–7 record. The No. 2 pick filled the void left by Napheesa Collier, who recently returned after missing the first 27 games of the season due to offseason surgery on both ankles.
Miles is already one of the league’s best players as her feel for the game and all-around ability has led to jaw-dropping numbers, which has made her an outside MVP candidate as the best player on the league’s best team. Elsewhere around the league, though, Miles’s fellow rookies have made their own impact in a varying degree of lead and supporting roles.
Sports Illustrated has documented the 2026 rookie class throughout the league’s 30th season. Since Miles’s incredible first season has been impossible to look away from, which will only continue as the Lynx make a title push, here’s a look around the W at other top first-year players outside of the runaway Rookie of the Year:
Sydney Taylor is the silver lining in Chicago’s forgettable season
Sydney Taylor is currently out with a groin injury, but her first WNBA season has been one to remember. The 25-year-old undrafted rookie has averaged 14.7 points per game, the best mark of any rookie other than Miles (the standard disclaimer in these conversations). Taylor already has multiple 30-point games under her belt and recently had her signature moment as she willed the Sky to an upset win over the Aces on Aug. 1.
She hit an incredible game-winning three-pointer with less than a second left to give Chicago a one-point win over Las Vegas. The highlight capped off a 29-point night where she drained five of her 11 attempts from deep.
SYDNEY TAYLOR GAME WINNER
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) August 1, 2026
OH MY GOODNESS. 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/wkz4U6prUo
The Sky erased a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter for the magical win, overcoming 36 points from A’ja Wilson along the way. Rickea Jackson’s torn ACL early in the season put a damper on the team’s surprising start, but Taylor’s emergence has been the bright spot of an otherwise forgettable year for the Sky. She looks the part of a true star who can score in bunches no matter who is on the other end of the floor. Accumulating talent is Chicago’s true need and the franchise struck gold with Taylor, who made the team off a training-camp deal.
Azzi Fudd will be crucial to Wings’ playoff success
Despite a win Wednesday against the Tempo, the Wings have slid as of late. Dallas has lost five of its past seven games and is currently seventh in the standings, sandwiched between the Mystics and Liberty, who are also 7.5 games back. After the Lynx, Valkyries and Aces, the final five playoff teams are all within 1.5 games of each other. Depending on how the last chunk of the season goes, Dallas could draw Minnesota in the first round or one of its closer counterparts.
Should the Wings make a run as they jockey for playoff positioning, Azzi Fudd will be a big part of it. The top pick has missed the past three games with knee soreness, which has come at an inopportune time. Realistically, this isn’t the Wings’ year to compete for the title with a young roster that lacks depth and Dallas presumably wants to proceed with caution due to Fudd’s injury history. Assuming she’s back soon, she’s a dynamic floor spacer that is a crucial piece of the latter portion of the season. Fudd has had an up-and-down first year as she’s adjusted to the next level while dealing with knee issues at times. When she’s on, though, she’s already one of the league’s best shooters and makes life a whole lot easier for Paige Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale and Jessica Shepard.
Beyond those four, the Wings don’t have much depth, although Alanna Smith had a great performance Wednesday as Shepard missed her first game of the year due to an ankle injury. Dallas will need to be close to perfect to win a playoff series depending on its draw and the young squad is at its best when Fudd is knocking down shots.
What to make of Awa Fam’s rookie year
Heading into the draft, Awa Fam’s tools made her a true threat to be picked ahead of Fudd or Miles. The Spanish phenom fell into the Storm’s lap at No. 3, though, and instantly formed the league’s best frontcourt alongside Domonique Malonga. Fam missed the first six games of the season due to overseas obligations with her Spanish club. She’s made 21 starts for a rebuilding Seattle franchise and recently transitioned back to a bench role as Ezi Magbegor ramped back up after missing the first half of the season with a foot injury.
Just 20 years old, Fam is the youngest player in the league after Malonga held that honor during her rookie season last year. Fam is nothing close to a finished product, but the flashes are already there. Although there’s a recent stretch of inefficient games in a smaller amount of minutes with Magbegor’s return, the trio of Fam, Malonga and Flau’jae Johnson is the future for a Storm team that saw a mass exodus in free agency.
In particular, Fam’s three-point shooting has stood out. She’s knocked down 35.3% of her threes as a rookie, which isn’t an incredible rate, but she’s had numerous games where she’s been lights out from deep. Fam made five triples during her career-high 21-point game in a win over Atlanta in late June. She’s had two 4-for-5 nights from distance, too.
Awa Fam tonight 🔥
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) June 28, 2026
• 21 points
• 5/6 3PM (!!)
• 8/9 FG pic.twitter.com/to2lL2jJcH
It’s been mostly boom or bust with shots falling throughout Fam’s rookie year. If she can improve her efficiency slightly as she gets more WNBA experience under her belt, it’s a scary sight for the rest of the league. Malonga has had a humongous second-year leap as she earned All-Star honors averaging 17.4 points per game compared to 7.7 in her first season. That’s a product of more opportunity and experience, which her new frontcourt mate in Fam should be in for during her second season. Malonga dominates near the rim while Fam can stretch the floor, which creates easier looks for herself and her teammates. Although Seattle is the only team already eliminated from postseason contention, the franchise has the best young core in the league.
