Over the course of her first 19 pro games, Olivia Miles has effectively ended a high-profile Rookie of the Year race, become a legitimate MVP dark horse and pushed the Minnesota Lynx to the WNBA title favorites.

Miles has a killer first step, razzle-dazzle passes and a cool nickname: the Spectacle, a nod to her goggles and entertaining play style.

We’re not yet halfway through the schedule, but Miles has been the story of the season (you know, aside from the daily discourse about Caitlin Clark).

Let’s take a look at how three betting markets have moved to show the distance Miles has covered already.

Watch This: Olivia Miles throws dimes in Minnesota’s win over Dallas

Rookie of the Year odds

In what should be one of the most scrutinized decisions in WNBA Draft history, the Dallas Wings used the No. 1 pick on Azzi Fudd — an accomplished but less dynamic guard — in part because of Fudd’s chemistry with her old UConn teammate, Paige Bueckers. When the Wings shut down questions about their off-court relationship, the story exploded into the mainstream.

Most of the discussion was about whether it was appropriate to pry into the personal lives of women’s athletes — particularly when those lives spill into roster-building decisions. What got overlooked at the time was Miles.

The New Jersey native finished her bachelor’s and master’s degrees during a standout career at Notre Dame, so people assumed she’d enter the 2025 WNBA draft and be a top-five pick. But she instead used one final year of eligibility to transfer to TCU and cash in on an NIL check.

Another big season had her in the running to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft.

Several days before the draft, it was actually a third player, Spanish center Awa Fam, who was the betting favorite to go No. 1. Closer to the event, all signs pointed to Fudd, so Miles was a +1200 underdog.

Still, Fudd and Miles entered this season neck and neck in the rookie of the year race, each at around +275, depending on the sportsbook.

Miles had 21 points and eight assists in her debut, whereas Fudd was a nonfactor in hers, and ever since, Miles has been widening the gap of what is now a canyon on and off the court. At sportsbooks, the ROY odds have shifted drastically. On FanDuel, she currently sits at -2000 to win the award; Fudd is +2000. In some books, the bet is no longer listed. Basically, some books have taken the bet off the table, a testament to how good Miles has been this season.

Fudd hasn’t been bad. She has been an extension of what she was at UConn: an efficient shooter who plays well off others but struggles to create on her own.

Miles has just been one of the best players in the league.

MVP odds

Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson is the favorite to win her third straight MVP award — a feat never accomplished in the WNBA. This isn’t a runaway, with Wilson’s odds at -220, but if she keeps performing to her level, everybody else might be playing for second.

So who are those other candidates playing for second?

Bueckers (+650), Clark (+1000) and, to many people’s surprise, a player with a much lower Q score: Olivia Miles (+1100 on DraftKings).

According to information shared by BetMGM last week, the most betting tickets have been on Clark then Bueckers, with Bueckers having a large 38.7 percent of the handle.

DraftKings sportsbook director Johnny Avello, who called WNBA betting “a growing monster for us,” said Bueckers has been the popular pick at his book, too.
That might soon shift to Miles, who was off the board entering the season.

When Miles and the Lynx hosted the Wings three weeks ago, the story was about the No. 2 pick vastly outplaying the No. 1 pick in a Lynx victory. By the time the teams met Sunday again in Dallas, Miles v. Fudd had evolved into Miles v. Bueckers.

The players jawed at each other during the second quarter, and Bueckers finished with a game-high 25 points. But Miles was again the best overall player on the floor in another Minnesota win.

Olivia Miles today 🔥

• 21 points
• 8 assists
• 3 rebounds pic.twitter.com/4oSvVFWvie

— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) June 28, 2026

She’s averaging 18.7 points, 5.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds for a team leading the standings at 15-4. That’s MVP material.

The only rookie to win WNBA MVP is Candace Parker in 2008. Beyond that, the highest a rookie has placed is Clark’s fourth-place finish in 2024. Miles even being this high on the board is rarefied air.

Championship odds

The Lynx have a perennial MVP contender. Her name is Napheesa Collier, the runner-up the past two years, and she hasn’t played all season because of an ankle injury suffered last postseason.

Minnesota overhauled its roster and acknowledged Collier might miss a significant chunk of the season, so this was supposed to be a semi-gap year for the Lynx, who had a top-two record each of the past two seasons. (Their high selection in this year’s draft came from a pick swap with the Chicago Sky.)

Entering the year, their odds to win the title ranked fifth at +950.

Now they’re the favorites and the team to beat at +250.

Though Miles is plenty flashy, she’s also heavy on substance. She’s shooting 52 percent from the floor, unheard of for a guard, and 90 percent from the foul line.

In her worst game so far, at Golden State on June 19, she shot 1-for-10 from the floor and had a season-high six turnovers. But in crunch time she made two free throws to extend Minnesota’s lead and then blocked a three-pointer to seal the victory.

The Lynx have not provided a timetable for Collier’s return. But there’s no urgency to rush her back — not with a legitimate MVP candidate steering the league’s best team.