How a Women’s Basketball Star Just Revealed a Shifting Power Dynamic

The apical of the 2025 WNBA Draft experienced a large shakeup erstwhile Olivia Miles entered the transportation portal. Miles was projected to beryllium the No. 2 prime successful April’s draught and apt autumn nary little than 3rd overall, but alternatively she has elected to widen her assemblage career, conscionable not astatine Notre Dame.

Even though the epoch of the pandemic bonus twelvemonth has fundamentally ended successful assemblage hoops arsenic eligible players had to beryllium connected rosters during the 2020-21 season, which was erstwhile the existent harvest of fourth-year seniors was successful precocious school, eligibility decisions are inactive astatine play for WNBA prospects. There are inactive aesculapian redshirts, which is wherefore Miles tin play for different twelvemonth due to the fact that she missed the 2023-24 play with a torn ACL. Furthermore, juniors who crook 22 during the twelvemonth of the draught person the enactment to spell pro oregon stay successful school.

Miles’ determination not lone represents the emerging powerfulness of subordinate bureau successful the women’s hoops landscape, but it is peculiarly absorbing strictly from a hoops consideration, arsenic she is beloved by WNBA endowment evaluators. The erstwhile Notre Dame defender was each but guaranteed to beryllium a lottery pick, with wide managers calling her the safest prime successful the draught beyond UConn’s Paige Bueckers. Her monolithic betterment arsenic a 3-point shooter (24.6 percent earlier the wounded compared to 40.8 percent after) was the tipping constituent erstwhile combined with her already fantabulous facilitation arsenic a pb guard.

In theory, Miles’ banal has obscurity to spell but down if her shooting doesn’t stay accordant astatine this level. That indicates that erstwhile she gets picked isn’t astir arsenic important arsenic however overmuch wealth she tin marque successful the process, wherever she goes, and however her assemblage feels aft her ACL injury.

The WNBA is presently negotiating a caller corporate bargaining statement with the players’ relation that could perchance triple idiosyncratic salaries. Rather than fastener herself into a four-year rookie declaration totaling astir $350,000, Miles could hold to participate the league until 2026 and perchance recoup that fig wrong the archetypal 2 seasons. Agents person been advising assemblage players crossed the state with an further twelvemonth of eligibility to enactment successful schoolhouse and reap the fiscal rewards of the adjacent CBA.

If Miles makes her transportation determination wrong the adjacent week, she could besides unafraid name, representation and likeness commitments earlier the last proceeding successful the House v. NCAA lawsuit connected April 7. This is the past gasp for unregulated “pay-for-play” deals with athletes earlier they are assessed by an NCAA clearinghouse. Given Miles’ presumption arsenic a two-time All-American — the lone different multi-time All-American to ever participate the portal was LSU’s Aneesah Morrow, who near DePaul — Miles volition presumably beryllium raking successful currency from collectives.

It’s worthy remembering that Miles’ outer sponsorships volition apt enactment with her erstwhile she turns professional, supplementing her WNBA salary. However, collectives affiliated with a assemblage volition lone beryllium funny successful her arsenic a collegian; thus, this is her past accidental to propulsion successful that peculiar gross stream.

Most WNBA executives didn’t mention Miles’ wellness arsenic a interest successful the lead-up to the draft, arsenic she has suffered lone 1 important wounded and appeared to beryllium successful fantabulous signifier during the 2024-25 season. However, she told The Athletic successful Birmingham that she is not adjacent to wherever she wants to beryllium post-injury.

“My carnal signifier could beryllium better,” Miles said. “This injury, it’s a long, agelong process. Even aft you’re healed, getting the remainder of your assemblage to drawback up. I would accidental I’m not adjacent 75 percent of the mode determination yet.”

Taking the leap from assemblage to the WNBA requires a definite level of assurance not lone successful a player’s skills, but successful their body. If Miles doesn’t consciousness physically herself, it wouldn’t beryllium the close clip to play against grown women successful a carnal league. That’s a akin calculation that Azzi Fudd had to make. The redshirt inferior opted retired of the 2025 draught to instrumentality to the Huskies contempt besides being a projected first-round pick. Fudd has hardly played 1 afloat steadfast play astatine UConn and could basal to get stronger earlier joining the W.

Miles besides has much to execute astatine the collegiate level. She ended her play successful the Sweet 16, conscionable arsenic she has each afloat play astatine Notre Dame, which was abbreviated of what the Irish — who were ranked No. 1 successful the state connected Feb. 17 — had hoped for. There were ever questions astir the acceptable betwixt Miles and different ball-dominant defender successful Hannah Hidalgo. Now, Miles tin find different squad wherever she is the full-time constituent defender and with much returning talent. Even if Miles returned, Notre Dame was losing fractional its rotation (Sonia Citron, Maddy Westbeld, Liatu King and Liza Karlen) and bringing successful 1 top-100 recruit.

Flau’jae Johnson, a draft-eligible junior, said she wanted to bash much winning earlier leaving LSU, contempt already being a nationalist champion.

“Once you sensation the nationalist championship, you privation more,” Johnson said aft losing successful the Elite Eight. “And I consciousness similar that nationalist title I had (as a freshman), yeah, I was a large origin successful it, but determination were bigger factors successful that. I privation my ain one. Where I pb the team.”

Ta’Niya Latson, who was a 2025 All-American with Miles and Johnson, has experienced capable idiosyncratic accolades astatine Florida State. She besides entered the portal alternatively of the WNBA draft, having deed a repeated NCAA Tournament first-weekend ceiling with the Seminoles.

There volition ever beryllium a gully to playing successful the NCAA Tournament, 1 that the WNBA can’t match, and determination are lone truthful galore years erstwhile players tin instrumentality portion successful it. All of the aforementioned athletes person been deprived of postseason acquisition owed to injury. Miles missed 2 tournaments, Fudd missed 1 and was sick during another, and Latson was injured during her freshman postseason.

This is simply a concern JuJu Watkins volition person to see erstwhile she returns from her ACL injury. Rather than spell pro successful 2027, she could enactment successful assemblage a 5th twelvemonth arsenic a aesculapian redshirt to get backmost the March clip she lost, depending connected what USC has accomplished to that point.

Miles’ determination doesn’t beryllium successful a vacuum. It is typical of each the financial, aesculapian and legacy-related questions that pistillate athletes are confronting successful a clip erstwhile they person much bureau than ever. The equilibrium of powerfulness is shifting, and colleges and WNBA teams are present astatine the mercy of the players.

(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

Sabreena Merchant is simply a women's hoops Staff Writer for The Athletic. She antecedently covered the WNBA and NBA for SB Nation. Sabreena is an alum of Duke University, wherever she wrote for the autarkic pupil newspaper, The Chronicle. She is based successful Los Angeles. Follow Sabreena connected Twitter @sabreenajm