Lynx Lead WNBA at 53% Shooting as SI Flags Week 1 Surprises

2 articles · Updated · Sports Illustrated · May 15

Minnesota emerged as Sports Illustrated’s biggest first-week surprise, opening the WNBA’s 30th season with the league’s best shooting at 53% despite Napheesa Collier still sidelined.
Olivia Miles has quickly fueled that start, posting 21 points and eight assists in her debut before a 13-point, seven-assist, six-rebound game that pushed her to the front of the early Rookie of the Year race.
Golden State also drew praise after a 2-1 opening stretch, with Gabby Williams scoring 19 against Phoenix and 18 against Chicago to suggest the Valkyries may be more than an expansion grinder.
Chicago’s 2-0 start and New York’s guard play added to the early shake-up, while Sarah Ashlee Barker’s buzzer-beater for Portland and Dallas’s 107-104 win over Indiana supplied the week’s standout moments.
The early read remains highly provisional—most teams have played only two or three games—but SI’s take is that rookies, expansion clubs and revamped rosters are already reshaping expectations.

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