WNBA Rookie Rankings: Awa Fam makes her debut after career-high 21 points, Olivia Miles smashes more records

Awa Fam is making her debut in the CBS Sports rookie rankings, joining Seattle Storm teammate Flau’jae Johnson in the top five. The Storm recently went through an 11-game losing streak, the worst in franchise history, but finished June on a high note with back-to-back wins over the Atlanta Dream and New York Liberty. Fam’s emergence and Johnson’s continued growth have been a big part of that turnaround.

Meanwhile, no other first-year player has been able to catch up to Minnesota Lynx guard Olivia Miles, who once again sits at the top of our list. She has been putting up stats comparable to Dallas Wings’ Paige Bueckers and Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark, the two most recent Rookie of the Year winners. 

Without further ado, here are the newest CBS Sports WNBA rookie rankings:

5. Awa Fam 

The Storm have struggled this season, but the young players are showing a lot of promise. Fam, who turned 20 years old on June 17,  is currently the youngest player in the league but is already holding her own. The No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft is making her debut in our rankings following her career-high 21 points in the 105-90 win over the Atlanta Dream. She was extremely efficient with it as she went 8 of 9 from the field and 5 of 6 from beyond the arc.

Fam has now scored 15+ points in four of her last five games. When shots are not falling, she finds other ways to contribute, such as registering a career-best 10 rebounds against Phoenix on June 20.

4. Sydney Taylor

Since getting more playing time, the undrafted free agent continues to show she can no longer be overlooked. Taylor showed out in a statement 124-94 victory over Portland last Friday with a career-high 29 points. She shot an efficient 8 of 11 from the field and also an impressive 6 of 7 from beyond the arc. 

Few rookies have had that level of productivity. In fact, Taylor is only the third rookie in WNBA history to post 25+ points and 5+ 3-pointers while shooting at least 70% from the field.

3. Flau’jae Johnson

Johnson had the best two performances of her career last week. She was a key part of the Storm’s 99-88 win over the New York Liberty on Thursday with a career-high 28 points, including four 3-pointers. She also contributed nine rebounds and three steals. 

Two days later, Johnson helped her team get a 105-90 win over the Atlanta Dream with a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 75% from the field. Johnson’s effort keeps showing up on the stat sheet — she leads all guards in the WNBA with 5.5 rebounds per game.

2. Azzi Fudd

Fudd scored a career-high 26 points in the Wings’ 112-110 overtime victory against the Storm on June 22. She had a quieter outing three days later against Las Vegas, with just seven points, but she put on another 20-point performance during Sunday’s game against the Lynx. Despite the 85-77 loss, Fudd scored 21 points while also contributing with four steals and one block against Miles. There was a bit of an injury scare because Fudd hit the floor hard after the block, but she was able to stay in the game.

The former UConn standout has been embracing her role as a defender in the WNBA and is making history in the process. Fudd is currently averaging 1.1 blocks per game, the most blocks per game in a season by any player under 6 feet in league history. Per CBS Sports stats and research, Fudd is also the fastest guard to reach 50 steals and 50 blocks in 18 years.

1. Olivia Miles

Miles’ historic rookie campaign keeps picking up momentum and the Lynx are benefiting with a 15-4 start, the best record in the league. She scored 20+ points in the past three games, including 21 points and eight assists in an 85-77 win over the Wings on Sunday.

In that game, Miles became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 350+ points and 100 assists. She did so in 19 games, which helped her pass Paige Bueckers (20 games) and Caitlin Clark (22 games). Miles continues to lead all rookies in scoring with 18.7 points per game, which also puts her in the top 10 across the league this season.