While a college player is atop the current rankings, at least one international player is lurking in the race. It’s also worth noting that guards dominate this list so far, as the league’s rookie bigs have taken longer to get up to speed. Could someone like Lauren Betts still be a late spoiler in the race?<\/p>\n
5. Kiki Rice, Toronto Tempo![\"Kiki](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/01ksq9wxmnm14mrdnqh9.jpg\" "\\"Kiki")
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Toronto Tempo guard Kiki Rice | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
I\u2019m sure the Chicago Sky are happy enough with Gabriela Jaquez<\/a> \u2014 she would rank sixth if I expanded this list \u2014 but I still don\u2019t get the decision to pass on Kiki Rice for her. Rice was clearly the best guard\/wing prospect from last year\u2019s UCLA team.<\/p>\n The Tempo defeated the Sky on Wednesday and Rice played a key role in that, scoring 14 points to go along with eight rebounds and seven assists. She was a plus-11, the best of all Tempo players.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rice was a top prospect because she\u2019s such a well rounded player. There isn\u2019t necessarily one thing about her game that stands out; what\u2019s apparent when watching her is that she does a lot of things well. That\u2019s proven to be something that Toronto needed to help balance out a backcourt of Brittney Sykes and Marina Mabrey, a duo that is talented but doesn\u2019t always do the little things as well as you\u2019d like. Rice fixes that gap, and it\u2019s going to keep her employed in this league for a long time.\u00a0<\/p>\n 4. Jovana Nogic, Phoenix Mercury Phoenix Mercury guard Jovana Nogic | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n The Phoenix Mercury have not been a good basketball team. Losing Satou Sabally has hurt worse than expected, and the team has had to rely on multiple players with short or non-existent WNBA resumes.<\/p>\n One of those who has stood out in a good way, though, is Jovana Nogic. The 28-year-old Serbian guard has been Phoenix\u2019s best outside scorer this season, making multiple 3-pointers in all but one game so far. She\u2019s connecting on over 50 percent of her deep looks.<\/p>\n Now, there is one big concern, which is that Nogic has struggled immensely when it comes to scoring inside the arc, shooting under 30 percent on 2-pointers. If she winds up pigeonholed as only a shooter in the W, that hurts her ability to see the floor enough to make a valid run at this award. For now, though, Nogic has been a clear top five rookie.\u00a0<\/p>\n 3. Flau\u2019jae Johnson, Seattle Storm Seattle Storm guard Flau’jae Johnson | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images<\/p>\n The Seattle Storm are surprisingly not awful, and rookie Flau\u2019jae Johnson deserves a lot of credit for that.\u00a0<\/p>\n The team has played solid defense this year, but finding offense has been an issue. Johnson has been their third-leading scorer at 12.0 points per game, providing the team with a source of scoring and someone who can make an impact in transition. She can really wreck things when she gets a head of steam.<\/p>\n One knock on her coming in was that she didn\u2019t play in a very pro-development system at LSU. There were concerns with her adapting to the contexts she\u2019d be placed in in the WNBA. I do think her overall efficiency struggles mean we can’t rule that out as an issue \u2014 she’s shooting 30.7 percent from the floor and 26.5 percent from deep \u2014 but Johnson seems to be on the right track.<\/p>\n 2. Azzi Fudd, Dallas Wings Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd | Chris Jones-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Fudd got off to a slow-ish start to her WNBA career, but she\u2019s really starting to put it all together, and in Dallas\u2019 most recent contest, we finally got to see what happens when she\u2019s hitting 3-pointers like she did in college: she scores a bunch of points.\u00a0<\/p>\n I defended Dallas not starting Fudd at the start of the year. Moving Paige Bueckers off-ball with Odyssey Sims at the point seemed like the way to go. And while I still believe the best future version of Bueckers is at the two, it\u2019s also clear that for 2026, keeping her on-ball to allow Fudd to play as much as possible seems like the best solution. A change in the starting lineup should arrive soon.<\/p>\n Fudd is shooting the ball well and could still end up as the highest-scoring rookie, but one thing that hurts her in this race is that not all of her production shows on the stat sheet, like her help defense or her off-ball movement. She isn\u2019t going to do much playmaking, so her assist numbers will be low, but something that should work in her favor is that she\u2019s one of the only rookies who might be in the right place to really impact the title race.\u00a0<\/a>That, of course, assumes the next player’s team doesn’t magically keep winning.<\/p>\n 1. Olivia Miles, Minnesota Lynx Minnesota Lynx guard Olivia Miles | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Fudd will make this race close, but right now it\u2019s Olivia Miles’ to lose at the moment. The former TCU and Notre Dame point guard took over the reins of the point guard role in Minnesota immediately and has been crucial to this Minnesota team starting 5-2 without Napheesa Collier.<\/p>\n Miles is averaging 15.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game for the Lynx, with the team posting a plus-15.5 net rating with her on the floor. That’s plus-21.1 points per 100 possessions better than the net rating when she sits. She was a pro-ready player who has taken zero time to adjust to the WNBA game.<\/p>\n So, should Dallas regret passing on Miles, seeing as she\u2019s the frontrunner for this award? I wouldn\u2019t say that. Dallas might have opted to bring Miles off the bench behind Sims just like it\u2019s done with Fudd, and it\u2019s possible Miles may have struggled to figure out how to share the ball with Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale. Adding an off-ball scorer still may have been the right call, though Miles is playing incredible basketball at the moment and there\u2019s a clear argument that she\u2019s the best player in this class. <\/p>\n![\"Jovana](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/01ksq9yekqwfcz5st3tv.jpg\" "\\"Jovana")
<\/p>\n![\"Flau'jae](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/01ksqa601vffaaq0cqkr.jpg\" "\\"Flau'jae")
<\/p>\n![\"Azzi](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/01ksqawzxnqfe2xmrcdr.jpg\" "\\"Azzi")
<\/p>\n![\"Minnesota](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/01ksqcefdah3rc1nwdc8.jpg\" "\\"Minnesota")
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