There’s no doubt about it: the 2026 rookie class has had a very strong debut season.

No. 1 overall pick Azzi Fudd had her season cut short by injury, but before that, she had already established herself as one of the league’s elite shooters and perimeter defenders. No. 2 pick Olivia Miles entered the MVP conversation just weeks into the season. And, at just 20 years old, No. 3 pick Awa Fam has already shown signs of blossoming into a great player for years to come (and she’s a very good player already).

But notably, it’s not just the top draft picks who impressed in Year 1. Undrafted players like Sydney Taylor and Laura Juskaite have been among the most prolific scorers in the rookie class, and UCLA champions like Kiki Rice, Lauren Betts, and Charlisse Leger-Walker have all been crucial to their respective teams.

As a WNBA award voter, I was tasked with selecting five rookies for the league’s five-person All-Rookie team. After lots of back-and-forth, here were my final picks:

As my undoubted Rookie of the Year, Olivia Miles was a no-brainer pick for the All-Rookie team. Not only has Miles been the engine powering the best team in the WNBA, but she also established herself as an MVP candidate. She leads all rookies in points and assists — this one wasn’t close.

Azzi Fudd was also an obvious selection. Fudd, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft, had her year cut short due to a knee injury, but before that, she had established herself as one of the Wings’ most important players. Fudd averaged 13.1 points on 45.6% shooting — while hitting 39.7% from three — while also demonstrating herself to be an elite defender on a playoff team.

Outside of those two rookies, there was a little bit more deliberation. I heavily considered Awa Fam (Seattle Storm), Laura Juskaite (Toronto Tempo), and Kiki Rice (Tempo). And several other rookies, like Connecticut Sun guard Charlisse Leger-Walker and Washington Mystics center Lauren Betts, have also had strong seasons, though they weren’t as heavily considered for the All-Rookie team.

Awa Fam was probably my most difficult omission from the All-Rookie team. Fam has more than met expectations at the third overall pick in the draft, so her not being one of my five picks is not indicative of her having a lackluster first season in Seattle.

How the top-performing rookies stacked up

Here’s how all the rookies I considered stacked up statistically — I looked at counting stats as well as Databallr’s VPM stat, which captures a player’s impact in points per 100 possessions, and true shooting percentage, which accounts for a player’s overall scoring efficiency and takes into account two-pointers, three-pointers, and free throws.

Here were the 8 players I most heavily considered for the All-Rookie team’s five spots.

Olivia Miles: 19.8 points on 49.2% shooting, 38.8% from three, 6 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals, +/- of +7.0
TS%: 60.6%
VPM: +3.96 (best among considered rookies)

Azzi Fudd: 13.1 points on 45.6% shooting, 39.7% from three, 1.8 assists, 1.7 steals, +/- of +4.7
TS%: 55.8%
VPM: +0.41 (third among rookies)

Flau’jae Johnson: 14.9 points on 40.2% shooting, 29.6% from three, 4.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.4 steals, +/- of -2.6
TS%: 50.6%
VPM: -0.46 (fifth among rookies)

Sydney Taylor: 13.6 points on 42.5% shooting, 32.9% from three, 1.9 assists, +/- of +0.9
TS%: 55%
VPM: -0.56 (sixth among rookies)

Pauline Astier: 9.3 points on 54.6% shooting, 33.3% from three, 3.3 assists, 2.7 rebounds, +/- of +2.3
TS%: 64.2%
VPM: +0.48 (second among rookies)

Awa Fam: 10.3 points on 44.4% shooting, 35.2% from three, 5.9 rebounds, +/- of -3.6
TS%: 54.8%
VPM: -0.96 (seventh among rookies)

Laura Juskaite: 11.2 points on 48% shooting, 32.6% from three, 4.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals, +/- of -4.5
TS%: 59.4%
VPM: -1.19 (eighth among rookies)

Kiki Rice: 12.9 points on 47.4% shooting, 35.3% from three, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, +/- of -5.2
TS%: 58.9%
VPM: +0.01 (fourth among rookies)

Outside of Miles and Fudd, who were no-brainers, I had to make some tough decisions between Flau’jae Johnson, Sydney Taylor, Awa Fam, Pauline Astier, and Kiki Rice.

I ultimately picked Pauline Astier because of her crucial role on a winning team; Astier has the third-highest +/- in the rookie class and has been an integral part of a 25-16 Liberty squad. Additionally, Astier’s efficiency bolstered her case (her 63.4 TS% was the highest among rookies considered).

Deciding whether or not to include Flau’je Johnson was also somewhat difficult. Johnson is far-and-away the second-leading scorer in the rookie class, but she hasn’t been as efficient (and also hasn’t played as many meaningful minutes) as some of the other rookies in the class. Still, Johnson has held difficult defensive assignments all year, and she ranks second in steals and rebounds. Her overall on-court responsibilities far exceeded those of other rookies, and that was ultimately a deciding factor.

Sydney Taylor was selected, in part, because she was the third-leading scorer among rookies, and in part because she actually had a positive impact on winning despite being on a losing squad. Not only did Taylor pour in two game-winners in the month of August, but she also has the highest VPM and +/- among the rookies under consideration who are on losing teams. So, she ended up being my only All-Rookie team member who represented a losing team.

Kiki Rice was well on her way to the All-Rookie team before missing 16 games with a left ankle sprain, which hurt her case. I mulled over the fact that I excluded her in part due to her number of games played, while including Azzi Fudd, who played just two games more. But Fudd’s contributions on a winning team factored into the equation, as well as the fact that she ultimately played a lot more meaningful basketball than Rice.

Rice (and Laura Juskaite, for that matter) have upped their contributions as of late, but the Tempo have also lost 19 of their last 20 games, so it was difficult to select either player for All-Rookie when players with comparable stats are impacting winning. Had Rice been the leading scorer in the class, it would have been easier to overlook her missed time, but given that the race was already neck-and-neck, her missed time was a swing factor.