Olivia Miles continued her historic debut season on Sunday, breaking Caitlin Clark's rookie scoring record in the Minnesota Lynx's 101-89 win over the Connecticut Sun. Miles now has 790 points, surpassing Clark's previous mark of 769, set in 2024. Entering Sunday's contest, Miles needed just one point to pass Clark, but it took her until the second quarter to get it.
She didn't even take a shot in the first quarter, but on the first possession of the second frame, she earned a trip to the free throw line and knocked down both attempts to move past Clark. Miles finished with 21 points and six assists on 7 of 10 from the field. The regular season is 44 games now, compared to 40 games when Clark set her mark in 2024, but this was Miles' 40th appearance this season, so she didn't play more games than Clark did.
MILES STANDS ALONE 🥇With this free throw in the 2Q, Olivia Miles (771 PTS and counting) has passed Caitlin Clark (769) for the most points in a rookie season! https://t.co/ATTOWbpIoR pic.twitter.com/1rO6TMwB2L But while Miles didn't play more games than Clark before she broke her record, both of them have benefitted from the league's growth. For the majority of its history, the WNBA regular season was 34 games. Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, it expanded to 36 games in 2022, 40 games in 2023 and 44 games in 2025.
In 2027, there will be another big jump to 50 games. When Seimone Augustus averaged 21.9 points per game in 2006, which is the highest scoring average by a true rookie in league history, she "only" scored 744 points. Miles, by contrast, is averaging 19.8 points, while Clark averaged 19.2 points in 2024.
Three of the four highest single-season point totals by a rookie have come since 2024. Regardless of the season length, Miles is putting together one of the best rookie seasons ever. The No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft, she's been the driving force behind the Lynx's league-best 32-9 record.
After Sunday's win, Minnesota's magic number to clinch the No. 1 seed is down to one. Miles has won every Rookie of the Month honor, broke Clark's single-game rookie 3-point record earlier this season and became the fastest rookie to 400 points, 100 rebounds and 100 assists in league history. She's also smashed the Lynx franchise records for points and assists by a rookie.
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