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The WNBA regular season is set to resume on September 17, with the playoffs right around the corner. That also means the end-of-season award debates are now at center stage. Olivia Miles has emerged as the overwhelming Rookie of the Year frontrunner after a phenomenal debut season, while No. 1 pick Azzi Fudd also gave Dallas plenty to be excited about. So naturally, the comparison between the two rookies was bound to come up.
But when Fudd was asked whether Miles’ season had made her compare herself statistically to the Minnesota Lynx star, the Dallas Wings rookie made her stance pretty clear, as she told the media on Tuesday after practice, per a YouTube video posted by the Dallas Wings.
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“Liv has had a fantastic season, just playing phenomenally. But I don’t get caught up in comparing myself. I think comparison is the thief of joy. And once you do that, then I don’t know, I just feel like when you start to, it’s like the social media thing. When you start to look outside yourself, there’s just so many distractions that take away from the work that you could be doing. So I think she’s a great player, she had a great season. And I had a great season. My season ended early, that’s awesome. But I think, like, those are two, I don’t know. I leave that to you guys to debate and discuss.”
Azzi Fudd had plenty to feel good about in her first WNBA season. Dallas selected her No. 1 overall in the 2026 Draft with the idea of pairing her with former UConn teammate and franchise star Paige Bueckers. After finishing with the league’s worst record in 2025 (10-34), the Wings’ decision to put the two young stars together has already paid off with a playoff berth.
Azzi Fudd averaged 13.1 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.7 steals in 30 games. She also shot 45.6% from the field, 39.7% from three, with 82.6% success from the free-throw line. That three-point shooting is one of the biggest highlights of her rookie campaign. Fudd ranked fourth among rookies in scoring and led the class in three-point percentage among players with at least 100 attempts. She also took home the 3-Point Contest title during WNBA All-Star Weekend.
However, Miles has been operating on an entirely different level.
The No. 2 pick has helped keep Minnesota at the top of the standings even when team veteran Napheesa Collier had to sit out for a significant time. Her debut season has been strong enough to put her name into the MVP conversation while making her the clear frontrunner forRookie of the Year.
Miles currently leads all rookies in scoring, while also ranking among the top players in the entire league in those categories. She is also closing in on Caitlin Clark’s rookie scoring record and needs just one more 20-point game to break Seimone Augustus’ rookie record for the most such games in a season.
That difference in production is what makes the comparison between the two rookies so easy to make. Fudd was the No. 1 pick, Miles went No. 2, and both entered the league with enormous expectations. Their seasons, however, have taken very different paths.
While Azzi Fudd simply does not seem interested in measuring hers against Miles’, the two rookies could have had another chapter added to that conversation in the playoffs. Both the Wings and Lynx have secured postseason berths, with Minnesota sitting No. 1 and Dallas currently holding the No. 8 spot.
There is just one problem: Fudd will not be on the floor for that potential playoff meeting.
The Wings rookie was ruled out for the remainder of the season last month after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on her right knee. That means while Miles continues to lead Minnesota into the postseason, Fudd will have to watch the rest of her rookie campaign from the sidelines.
The Wings and the Lynx have already met four times during the regular season, and Minnesota won all four of them. So while Dallas could get a chance at revenge in the playoffs, Paige Bueckers will have to navigate that matchup without Azzi Fudd.
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