Olivia Miles is our Rookie of the Year. But who else stood out in a deep WNBA class?

As the playoff picture is finally coming into focus, it's fitting that the final seeds won't be settled until the last day of the season.

You know what's not being left until the last day of the season? The Athletic 's experts taking stock of the league and making decisions on year-end awards.

We unveiled our choices for Most Improved Player and Coach of the Year on Wednesday. Now, we continue with our Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Award, and Friday, we'll showcase our MVP and All-WNBA teams.

Our experts Annie Costabile, Brian Hamilton, Chantel Jennings and Sabreena Merchant explain their votes.

Olivia Miles was the unanimous pick, and that's no surprise. With her outstanding play, the No. 2 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft played her way into the MVP debate and ran away with the ROY award.

The more contested selections were those who followed Miles. Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 pick in this year's draft, averaged 13 points a game and started 24 of 30 games for the Dallas Wings , earning her the second-place nod, and a three-way tie for third rounds out an exclusively guard-occupied top group of rookies.

Here is the list of rookies who finished in the top 20 for win shares this season: Miles. Here are some players who had fewer win shares than Miles: Allisha Gray , Caitlin Clark , Alyssa Thomas , Angel Reese . It's bonkers, the debut season Miles had. The calls past that were difficult, though, considering Taylor's surprise breakout with the Chicago Sky and Kiki Rice starting and finishing strong, around an injury-related slump in the middle. Fudd didn't finish the season, but she was an emerging two-way standout for Dallas. — Brian Hamilton

Miles is my MVP; that's how good of a rookie she has been. Fudd was a quality starter on a winning team while she was healthy, leading the Wings in on-off differential. Taylor was buried on the bench for too long, but when she was in the starting lineup, she averaged 15.4 points on 35.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc; more importantly, the struggling Sky had a positive point differential in those minutes. A hat tip to Astier, Rice, Lauren Betts and the Seattle Storm duo of Flau'jae Johnson and Awa Fam, all of whom had seasons worthy of the all-rookie team, but it's a deep class. — Sabreena Merchant

The Rookie of the Year race was not close. Miles became the front-runner before the All-Star break when she carried the Minnesota Lynx to the top of the leaderboard without 2025 MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier . The rookie class this year was more about depth than anything. Between Fudd finding her rhythm in Dallas, Taylor being one of the few bright lights in Chicago, and Astier, Rice and Johnson all showing up as significant contributors for their teams, the 2026 rookie class is in the conversation as one of the deepest. — Annie Costabile

In the WNBA's history, only five players have averaged 19-plus points and six-plus assists over the course of a season: Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker, Caitlin Clark (twice), Jackie Young … and Olivia Miles. Among them, Miles averaged the fewest minutes. With all due respect to the other rookies in this class, only one player was completely un-rookie-like and instead played like someone who's putting herself in the same category as the DTs and CPs of the world. — Chantel Jennings

Angel Reese was the only player among our top three who appeared on each of our ballots, earning the top nod from three of our voters. But it was a tightly contested race beyond the top spot, as several players' defensive contributions were recognized.

Unlike the ROY, the DPOY battle spanned positions, which — rightfully so — indicates the deep defensive versatility in the WNBA, a near-necessity now for players, whether they initially get in their stance in the paint or on the perimeter.

Also receiving votes: Sonia Citron , Washington Mystics; Veronica Burton, Golden State Valkyries.

As someone who was never mistaken for an adequate defender on a basketball court, I'm a little hesitant to make appraisals here. So I'll just rely on numbers. Reese finished first in total rebounds, third in defensive rebounds, third in steals, first in defensive win shares and fourth in defensive rating. She can guard all five spots on the floor. Reese is a massive asset for one of the league's top defensive outfits. — Hamilton

Entering the final stretch of regular-season games, Reese was the league leader in defensive win shares, third in defensive rebound percentage, tied for third in defensive boards and tied for first in steal percentage (among players averaging at least five rebounds per game). Among high-usage players, no one has had a better on-off differential for defensive team rating. On top of that, what the stats don't show is her versatility to guard all five positions and her activity that causes deflections, misdirections and turnovers. — Jennings

Williams has been the best defender on the WNBA's top-rated defensive team, but Reese's numbers don't lie. Her stats are impressive, and her defensive prowess is best measured by her overall impact. The Atlanta Dream have the fourth-best defensive rating (103.9) in the league, but it improves to 99.3 when Reese is on the court. — Costabile

Citron is consistently tasked with defending the opponent's best player, and she does it better than any other perimeter defender in the league. Among players who have contested at least 100 shots by All-Stars, Citron allows the lowest effective field goal percentage and the lowest expected shot quality. Put plainly, she forces the best players into the worst possible shots. In a league that emphasizes freedom of movement and is becoming increasingly friendly toward offense from the perimeter, the job of a wing stopper has never been more difficult. Citron still gets it done. — Merchant