Can Olivia Miles Make Voters Rethink MVP?

A’ja Wilson is the favorite. The case for Miles is the one Parker already proved is possible.

Photo: WNBA.com / Minnesota Lynx. Official league headshot.

Wilson is the favorite. Say that first, because it is true. Yahoo Sports has her there. Sporting News has her at 26.1 points and 9.5 rebounds. Four-time MVP. That is the mountain.

Now ask the other question. Can Olivia Miles make voters rethink it?

In 2008, Candace Parker did. No. 1 pick, Los Angeles. 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists in 33 games. StatMuse. On Oct. 3, 2008, the league named her MVP. First rookie to win it. Rookie of the Year the same season. WNBA.com. Nobody else has done both in the same year. That is not a vibe. That is the list.

Miles is the No. 2 pick in 2026, Minnesota, Notre Dame then TCU. Basketball-Reference. Through 35 games: 19.9 points, 6.1 assists, 4.7 rebounds. 50.3 percent from the field. 40.7 percent from three. Every game a start. All-Star. Yahoo already has her as the Rookie of the Year front-runner. Sporting News says she should win that one easily.

This comes after a first-place Lynx team that has been run by a rookie while Napheesa Collier missed time and came back. Star Tribune put Miles in the MVP conversation on that exact point: the offense is hers, the standard is Minnesota’s, and the shoulders are a rookie’s. Star Tribune. SB Nation ran the same argument: when you watch her, she feels like an MVP, and the Lynx have been the best team in the league with her. SB Nation.

The moment that will not leave is Parker’s. A rookie already changed a vote once. Voters had a favorite then, too. They still had to look at the team, the nights, the way the ball moved when she was on the floor.

Miles is not asking to be called the favorite. She is asking whether the favorite is automatic. Wilson can still win it. The case for Miles is that first place, 19.9 and 6.1, and a rookie year that already looks like the one that broke the rule.

The take: Rookie of the Year, yes. MVP favorite, no. Make voters rethink it, yes. That is the Parker door. It only opens if they refuse to treat the trophy as already engraved.

Sources: WNBA.com — Parker 2008 MVP, first rookie, Oct. 3, 2008. StatMuse — Parker 18.5 / 9.5 / 3.4 in 33 games. Basketball-Reference — Miles No. 2, 35 games, 19.9 / 6.1 / 4.7, 50.3 FG, 40.7 3P, All-Star. WNBA.com — Miles official page. Yahoo Sports — Wilson MVP favorite; Miles ROY front-runner; Parker only same-season ROY+MVP. Sporting News — Wilson 26.1 / 9.5. Star Tribune. SB Nation.