WNBA Power Rankings: Olivia Miles Breaks Caitlin Clark's Rookie Record, Lynx Remain No. 1

In the middle of the fourth quarter on Thursday, the Minnesota Lynx trailed the Golden State Valkyries by five, and their winning streak looked to be in danger. That's when Olivia Miles came off a dribble hand-off with Nia Coffey and buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key to cut the deficit to two and begin an 11-0 run that would put the Lynx in front for good.

The 3 was Miles' eighth of the night, moving her past Caitlin Clark for the WNBA's single-game rookie record. Miles finished with a career-high 28 points and seven assists as the Lynx held on for one of their most impressive wins of the season.

A few days later, Miles went for 19 points, six rebounds and six assists as the Lynx crushed the Seattle Storm to run their winning streak to seven games, improve to 9-2 and create some separation at the top of the standings. The Lynx haven't lost since May 17, and their two defeats this season have come by a combined eight points.

No one expected the Lynx to be this good after losing so much talent in the offseason, especially without Napheesa Collier , who remains sidelined after undergoing surgery on both ankles in the offseason. There are numerous factors for their success, including an elite defense, Natasha Howard's resurgence and Courtney Williams ' brilliant mid-range shot-making, but none have been as important, or as much fun to watch, as Miles' electric start to her career.

How the first-place Minnesota Lynx are defying expectations and finding success without Napheesa Collier Jack Maloney

Miles, who was named Rookie of the Month for May, has been one of the best players in the league and is already running away with Rookie of the Year. She's averaging 17.2 points, five rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.5 steals on 51.9/34.4/89.8 shooting splits, leads all rookies in scoring and assists and is 14th and sixth in the league in those same categories, respectively.

Only five players in WNBA history have recorded 15/5/5 seasons -- Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu , Candace Parker, Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas  -- and Clark is the only one to do so as a rookie. Additionally, Miles' 6.4 assists per game would be the third-most all-time by a rookie, behind only Clark (8.4) and Ticha Penicheiro (7.5).

A quarter of the way through the season, Miles is on pace for one of the best rookie seasons ever, and the Lynx are reaping the rewards.

Here are CBS Sports' latest WNBA Power Rankings:

Biggest Movers 3 Mercury 4 Fire Rk Teams   Chg Rcrd 1 Lynx The Lynx kept on rolling this week with three more victories -- including a 34-point destruction of the Mercury -- to extend their winning streak to seven games and create some separation at the top of the standings. No. 2 pick Olivia Miles, who was named Rookie of the Month for May, continues to excel. She scored a career-high 28 points and set the rookie 3-point record (eight) in their win over the Valkyries, and leads all rookies in scoring (17.2 points) and assists (6.4).

-- 2 Wings The Wings took care of the Storm and Sparks and have now won four games in a row -- their longest winning streak since 2023 -- and six of their last seven to climb into a tie for second place. They rang up 104 points on the Sparks to continue a dominant offensive start to the season, and are now first in offensive rating (112.7), second in assist rate (72%), second in turnover rate (14.8%) and sixth in true shooting percentage (56%). 1 3 Aces Chelsea Gray passed Becky Hammon for the Aces' all-time assists record (1,134) on Saturday in their win over the Valkyries, which ran their winning streak to three games. A'ja Wilson has had at least 25 points and 14 rebounds on 50% shooting in all three of those games, and is now averaging 25.1 points, which is second only to Kelsey Plum. Wilson is also seventh in the league in rebounding (9.4) and first in blocks (2.3). Another MVP could be in store. 1 4 Liberty The Liberty picked up two more victories this week to extend their winning streak to four games despite Sabrina Ionescu's continued absence due to a back issue. New York's defense has been dominant during this winning streak, thanks in large part to its press, which discombobulated the Fever. Only the Fire are pressing more often than the Liberty, who are doing so on 5.4% of their defensive possessions and holding opponents to 0.811 points per possession against their pressure.

1 5 Dream The Dream sandwiched a disappointing showing against the Fever with comfortable wins over the Sun and Mystics, which continued a potentially concerning early season trend. Against teams with a record below .500, they're 4-0 with a plus-70 point differential. But against teams with a .500 or better record, they're 3-3 with a -5 point differential.

3 6 Valkyries The Valkyries closed the week by losing both ends of a tough two-game road trip in Minnesota and Las Vegas by a combined eight points, and have now dropped three of their last four. Those defeats sank the Valkyries to 1-4 in clutch games (score within five points with five or fewer minutes remaining). In addition to being tied with the Fever for the worst clutch record, they're shooting a league-worst 28.1% in clutch minutes.

1 7 Fever Caitlin Clark's shooting slump continued during another tumultuous week for the Fever, who got a much-needed win over the Dream before blowing a double-digit second-half lead to the Liberty. Clark had 14 rebounds, 17 assists and just six turnovers in those two games, but shot 10 of 31 from the field, including 4 of 14 from 3-point range en route to 27 points. She's now shooting 37.7% for the season.

1 8 Tempo The Tempo went 2-1 this week to continue a solid start to the season, but they lost rookie point guard Kiki Rice to a Grade 2 ankle sprain during their loss to the Liberty. The team did not provide a timeline for Rice, but she will likely miss at least a few weeks, which is a huge blow. She had been excellent since joining the starting lineup, and boasted the best on/off differential on the team. The Tempo have a plus-7.1 net rating with Rice on the floor and a minus-7.1 net rating without her.

2 9 Sparks Kelsey Plum is back from her ankle sprain and the Sparks ended the week on a high with a win over the Fire to snap a three-game winning streak. They held Portland to 72 points on 36% shooting and forced 15 turnovers, which was by far their best defensive effort of the season, and dropped their defensive rating from 114.1 to 111.8. They're still last in the league in that category, however, and need to be more consistent on that end. -- 10 Fire The Fire shot 3 of 28 from 3-point range in a loss to the Sparks on Sunday, which was just the 11th time in WNBA history that a team has taken at least 25 3s and made three or fewer of them. That defeat was the third in a row for the Fire, who looked like an expansion team for the first time this week. During their first losing streak of the season, they've shot 41.1% from the field and have a 23.6% turnover rate.

4 11 Mystics The Mystics' win over the Sky was their biggest yet, considering they have swap rights for Chicago's 2027 first-round pick. Their 32-point loss to the Dream a few nights later, however, was a reminder that they have more to worry about than pick swaps. Georgia Amoore's continued struggles are a particular concern. She went scoreless against the Dream and has four points on 1 of 11 shooting in 67 minutes in the last three games combined. For the season, she's averaging 5.2 points and 3.4 assists on 26.5% shooting. How long will she keep starting?

-- 12 Mercury The Mercury's 34-point defeat to the Lynx was their worst since 2017, and ran their losing streak to six games. They finally ended the skid by beating the Storm and Fire, though neither victory was convincing and the latter came without Alyssa Thomas (left calf) and Kahleah Copper (left hip). It's unclear whether either star will miss further time. The Mercury will certainly hope not as they continue their tough road trip this week with games against the Valkyries and Wings. 3 13 Sun The Sun returned to their losing ways this week, but they were within five points in the fourth quarter against both the Dream and the Sky, and continue to be far more competitive than they were early in the season. Aneesah Morrow tied a career high with 20 points against the Dream and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds against the Sky. She's now averaging 12.3 points and 10.9 rebounds in a breakout sophomore campaign. 1 14 Sky The Sky finally snapped their five-game losing streak with a narrow win over the Sun, but then immediately got blown out by the Tempo to fall to 1-6 since their 3-1 start. The offense continues to be a disaster -- they're 13th in offensive rating (98.1) and 14th in true shooting percentage (50.8%) -- and Skylar Diggins is sounding the alarm. "We've gotta have more maturity and more leadership on and off the floor," Diggins said, adding that the season has been an "extremely frustrating experience." 2 15 Storm Three games, three defeats this week for the Storm, who have now lost five games in a row and are above only the Sun in the standings. Amid the losing, there has been some good news. Rookie forward Awa Fam had by far the best game of her young career against the Mercury when she put up 18 points and six rebounds and two blocks, and Dominique Malonga returned to action against the Lynx after missing eight games in a row with a concussion.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/wnba/news/wnba-power-rankings-olivia-miles-lynx-rookie-record/)._