Sue Bird reverses course on WNBA MVP pick after backing Olivia Miles

A prominent voice in women’s basketball, Sue Bird, has changed her mind on this year’s MVP race, and the reasoning behind the shift says a lot about how tight the margins are at the top.

Bird had initially made a strong case for Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles as the 2026 MVP frontrunner, arguing on her YouTube platform roughly two months ago that Miles wasn’t just in the conversation; she was leading it. And now, she is all for A’ja Wilson.

Bird’s reasoning at the time centered on a classic MVP criterion: the best player on the best team. At the time, Minnesota was rolling, often without star forward Napheesa Collier, and Miles had stepped into a primary role with remarkable poise for a first-year player.

“I thought being the best player on the best team to me is the MVP,” Bird said in a YouTube video on her channel.“Especially when… they didn’t have Napheesa, they were figuring things out and Olivia rose to that occasion.”

Miles backed up that praise with one of the most impressive rookie seasons in recent memory. The No. 2 overall pick averaged 19.8 points, 6.0 assists, and 4.7 rebounds while shooting over 49 percent from the field, running Minnesota’s offense with a poise well beyond her experience level.

She earned multiple Rookie of the Month honors and kept the Lynx near the top of the standings for most of the year, at one point making a rookie MVP, something only Candace Parker has ever pulled off, feel like a real possibility.

That changed late in the season. Miles missed time, including Minnesota’s final regular-season games, due to a calf issue. Bird acknowledged the drop-off wasn’t dramatic, but said it was enough to shift her thinking.

“There’s been a little bit of like a falloff. Nothing crazy, but just enough where it’s hard to ignore A’ja Wilson’s consistency in her numbers,” Bird said.

A’ja Wilson, meanwhile, was on another level.

A’ja Wilson once again set the standard for excellence in the WNBA this season, closing as the clear frontrunner for a historic fifth MVP award.

The Las Vegas Aces star averaged 26.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 52.7 percent from the field, as per Statmuse. She led the league in scoring for the third straight year and remained one of its most disruptive defensive presences, leaving little room to argue against her two-way impact.

Even with standout seasons from Olivia Miles, Caitlin Clark, and Kelsey Mitchell, Wilson’s production never wavered. She regularly delivered 30-point outings, including a 34-point, 10-rebound effort in the regular-season finale, while continuing to add to her list of franchise and league milestones.

By season’s end, most analysts and former players, including Sue Bird, had shifted firmly behind Wilson as the favorite, with her scoring volume, defensive impact, and consistent availability making the case straightforward.

As the playoffs begin, Wilson enters as the player to beat and the frontrunner to become the first five-time MVP in WNBA history.

Do you think Miles’ late-season injury cost her a real shot at becoming the second rookie ever to win MVP?