MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Lynx have received two major WNBA awards, with point guard Olivia Miles as Rookie of the Year and Cheryl Reeve as Coach of the Year for a league-record fifth time.
The WNBA announced the awards on Monday, before the Lynx traveled to New York for an elimination game in their best-of-three first-round playoff series on Tuesday. The top-seeded Lynx lost the opener at home 91-75 to the 2024 champion Liberty on Sunday.
Miles was an unanimous selection by a national panel of sports writers and broadcasters covering the league, after she set the WNBA rookie scoring record. Miles played in 40 of 44 games and averaged 19.8 points, 6.0 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals while shooting 49.2% from the field, 38.8% from 3-point range and 87% from the free-throw line.
Miles, who was the second overall pick in the draft out of TCU, became the sixth winner of the award in Lynx history, following Betty Lennox (2000), Seimone Augustus (2006), Maya Moore (2011), Napheesa Collier (2019) and Crystal Dangerfield (2020).
Reeve, who is also president of basketball operations for the club, previously won the award in 2011, 2016, 2020 and 2024. She guided the Lynx to WNBA titles in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017.
Reeve received 40 of 74 votes from media panel. Golden State's Natalie Nakase, who won the award last year, finished second with 20 votes. Washington's Sydney Johnson was third with 14 votes.
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