Olivia Miles Projected to Make 2028 Team USA Olympic Roster

Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles is on USA Today's projected Team USA roster for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, published Monday by Mitchell Northam.

Miles was not on the U.S. roster that won the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Berlin on Sunday. Northam wrote that room will likely have to be made for her as a WNBA MVP candidate and the Rookie of the Year front-runner. His projection gave the final three spots to Miles, USC guard JuJu Watkins, and Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard.

Northam put Lynx forward Napheesa Collier among five players he considers locks.

On draft night, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said the class had two players with "generational skills." Minnesota took Miles second overall on April 13, after she spent four years at Notre Dame, sat out the 2023-24 season with an ACL injury, and finished her college career as Big 12 Player of the Year at TCU.

"She's just really gifted," Reeve said then, calling Miles "the first real point guard we've had since Lindsay Whalen."

Miles debuted May 10 with 21 points, 8 assists, and 3 rebounds in a 91-90 loss to the Atlanta Dream. She was the fifth player in league history to record at least 20 points and 5 assists in a debut.

As of Aug. 5, Miles was averaging 19.7 points and 5.8 assists. She ranked eighth in the league in both categories. Her 10 games with at least 20 points and 5 assists were the most in a single season in Lynx history.

She was also the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 650 points and 200 assists. Earlier this season, she broke Caitlin Clark's rookie record for 3-pointers in a game.

Miles scored a career-high 31 points on 12-of-15 shooting in a June win in Los Angeles. Twenty-four of those points came in the first half, a WNBA rookie record.

Miles was named an All-Star in July. Collier said during the All-Star break that Miles should be considered an MVP candidate. Candace Parker, in 2008, is the only rookie to win the award.

Reeve said after a 94-84 win over the Washington Mystics last month that Minnesota's record is the argument for Miles.

"You have a 31-7 team … If Olivia Miles doesn't play, we're not 31-7," Reeve said. "And so, to me, I think 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."

Miles had 24 points, 7 assists, and 3 steals that night and led all rookies at 20.0 points and 6.2 assists per game. The award ranks behind her teammates.

"I really just don't care," Miles said. "… I love my teammates first and I love winning."

Minnesota lost Bridget Carleton, Alanna Smith, Jessica Shepard, Natisha Hiedeman, and DiJonai Carrington in free agency before the season, and Collier sat out until July 22 while recovering from surgery on both ankles.

The first-place Lynx, with four games left, host the New York Liberty at Target Center on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT.