Follow us on Google Discover A WNBA analyst for The Athletic is under immense fire for falsely claiming that Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles set the all-time rookie record for assists in a season.
That claim raised eyebrows around the world, as most active fans saw the WNBA rookie assist record set two years ago by Caitlin Clark with 337 assists.
Considering Miles is 110 assists behind with five games left in the season, this was an erroneously irresponsible claim by a journalist, who has now responded to the situation
The Athletic’s WNBA writer addresses Olivia Miles, Caitlin Clark mistake
Zena Keita misspoke on ‘The Athletic’s Women’s Basketball Show’ when she said that Miles set the WNBA’s rookie assist record, revealing that she meant to specify it for the Lynx.
“Me having to log back into X to say… This was a simple misspeak. The stat was that she broke the LYNX rookie single-assist record, not the WNBA. I had done two podcasts before this one and simply misspoke. I am not racist, and I don’t hate CC. You can think whatever else past that, idc.”
Keita had to address the mistake after unforgiving hate from fans, who attacked her credibility for making this mistake.
Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
“This is the perfect example of why Caitlin Clark fans do not respect the media and will continue not to do so no matter how much they gaslight us. This woman is on TV. She knows better. She’s lying or she’s ignorant. Both are inexcusable,” said one fan in a very apt encapsulation of the situation.
“This isn’t ‘hate.’ This is simply dumb,” said another fan.
“I rock with Zena but the best thing for her to do is simply state that she made a mistake the next time she records an episode. Because if she doesn’t, it’s going to look even worse than it already does right now,” said one fan with a gentle and understanding tone.
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“Olivia Miles has also made her mark this season setting the all time WNBA rookie assist record.”
Except she didn’t and isn’t even close to it
2024 Caitlin Clark: 337 assists in 40 games (8.4 APG)
2026 Olivia Miles: 227 assists in 37 games (6.1 APG)
LMFAO get it right pic.twitter.com/48e19xRrKG
— correlation (@nosyone4) August 30, 2026
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“This is crazy… I’m still in disbelief… She’s 100 away from the record lol they saying she set the record. This can’t be real. I refuse to believe they’d just lie,” said one fan.
This shows Keita needed to address her mistake, as it created a firestorm in the name of one of the most respected sports publications in the world.
Miles has had an incredible rookie season, averaging 19.7 points, 6.0 assists, and 4.6 rebounds as a credible MVP candidate. However, Clark’s rookie season numbers of 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, and 5.7 rebounds are not an easy mark to compare her to.
Miles might end up with more points as a rookie than Clark, but for her to catch up to Clark’s assists record, she would need over 20 assists a game in the remaining Lynx games this season.
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