The WNBA has featured several players in the past several seasons who have emerged as All-Stars with the potential to become superstars and all-time greats. Among them are the Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark, Atlanta Dream's Angel Reese, and the Dallas Wings' Paige Bueckers. More recently, Olivia Miles entered the conversation, becoming the Minnesota Lynx's No. 2 pick in this year's draft.
Miles quickly became a frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, and as the season progressed, she entered the Most Valuable Player discussion. During a recent appearance on The Ringer's "The Bill Simmons Podcast," WNBA legend Diana Taurasi named Miles as a younger player who stands out to her in the league. Taurasi called Miles a "special talent" and even compared aspects of her game to NBA star Kyrie Irving.
"I think she was a little under-the-radar because she did leave Notre Dame, and she went to TCU, which is a bit of a smaller school, but this kid is doing stuff ... She has Kyrie-like handles. She can shoot the basketball.
I always said, if you can shoot and if you can pass, you can play forever," Taurasi told Simmons. More news: Caitlin Clark’s Former Teammate Kate Martin Finds New WNBA Home Simmons agreed that he'd noticed Miles has a similar move to what Kyrie does, when she extends one arm forward while drives to the basket and puts in the layup off the glass. Taurasi said Miles was put in an ideal position on a team that was already stacked roster-wise and "expected to win a championship." "It's the perfect scenario for her to really be in the driver's seat in this league for the next 10-12 years," Taurasi said.
One could see a similarity where Irving began his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and soon after the team chose him first overall, the league's top superstar, LeBron James, rejoined the roster. Irving became the All-Star point guard in a powerful lineup that featured James and fellow All-Star Kevin Love. The Cavaliers won the franchise's first-ever NBA championship in 2016 with those three on the roster.
Irving has since become a nine-time All-Star and Olympic Gold medalist and is anticipating his return from injury to play for the Dallas Mavericks next season. To Taurasi's point about the Lynx roster, Miles also began playing for the team when their top star, Napheesa Collier, was still recovering from an injury. She was a significant reason Minnesota remained the best team in the league, and with Collier back they're that much better.
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