Olivia Miles is the best point guard prospect in college basketball. Over four seasons at Notre Dame, she steadily improved as a scorer, rebounder, and playmaker. Last season, she also became a much-improved 3-point shooter. Instead of declaring for the draft and hearing her name called in the lottery, Miles opted to transfer to TCU and play another season of college basketball.
Her decision is paying off. She is averaging a career-high 18.9 points, 7.6 assists, and 2.2 steals per game, while also grabbing 7.2 rebounds and still shooting pretty well from three. Her status as a lottery pick hasn’t changed, and she will get to start her WNBA career under a new CBA that should guarantee higher salaries for rookies and better revenue shares, among other improvements.
The one question that remains for Miles—outside of the chatter about a potential strike and delayed or canceled 2026 season, of course—is which team she will end up with. Minnesota looks like the best possible landing spot for her development for two reasons: Lindsay Whalen is on Cheryl Reeve’s coaching staff, and the Lynx can cover for Miles’s defensive shortcomings while pushing her to improve on that end of the floor.
Miles could learn a lot from Lindsay Whalen
With her court vision and passing ability, Miles could quickly become one of the best young point guards in the WNBA. Learning from Lindsay Whalen would only accelerate that process. Whalen was drafted fourth overall by the Connecticut Sun in 2004 and put together a long, successful playing career in the W and overseas.
In 2010, Whalen was traded to Minnesota and quickly became a key piece of the Lynx’s dynasty. She won four championships as the Lynx’s starting point guard and currently ranks fifth in all-time playoffs assists with 341—a mark that has been exceeded by Sue Bird, Chelsea Gray, Courtney Vandersloot, and Alyssa Thomas since Whalen’s retirement. Whalen also made five All-Star teams and five All-WNBA teams and led the league in assists three times.
After retiring from the W, Whalen took over as the head coach at her Alma Mater, the University of Minnesota. She stayed there until 2023 and joined the Lynx’s coaching staff in 2025. Courtney Williams already credited Whalen with helping her improve as a point guard. She could do the same for Miles. Whalen knows what it takes to be the starting point guard on a championship team, and that is something Miles will have to learn to fulfill her potential.
Defense is part of the Lynx’s identity
Minnesota had the best defensive rating in the league this past season and finished second last year. All five starters and most reserves who earned Cheryl Reeve’s trust are at least solid defenders. The Lynx also won two consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards. Napheesa Collier won it in 2024, and Alanna Smith tied with A’ja Wilson for the award in 2025.
Defense is a big part of what makes the Lynx so successful. At the moment, defense is Miles’s biggest weakness. Most rookies aren’t good defenders when they first come into the league and experience the speed and physicality of women who have been training and playing at the highest level for years. The Lynx are well-equipped to make up for Miles’s shortcomings on that end of the floor, even if the roster undergoes some changes due to the expansion draft for the Tempo and Fire and free agency.
Most importantly, however, Cheryl Reeve should be able to push Miles to become a better defender. Reeve knows what it takes to get the best out of all of her players defensively and build a championship identity on both ends of the floor.