In pursuit of their fifth straight FIBA World Cup gold in Berlin, Team USA features a roster balanced with experience and youth.

Even without four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson and five-time All-Star Kelsey Plum, the vets on this squad — Chelsea Gray (33), Breanna Stewart (32), Kahleah Copper (32), Napheesa Collier (29) and Jackie Young (28) — still bring a packed trophy case and a wealth of familiarity with competition on the global stage.

The rest of the squad is loaded with players who may lack the international experience of the vets, but have proven early in their WNBA and USA Basketball careers that they have the talent to maintain Team USA’s gold-medal standard, while rewriting the WNBA record books in the process.

Let’s take a closer look at those seven players — a group headlined by the last four Rookie of the Year winners dating back to 2022 — as well as a 2026 rookie who is already chasing down some of those marks in another historic debut season.

Rhyne Howard (2022)

Rhyne Howard #10 of the Atlanta Dream

Howard leads the WNBA in total 3-pointers made (128) in 2026 and has never finished ranked outside the top 10 in any season of her career. Since entering the league in 2022, Howard ranks second in total 3-pointers made (494), trailing only Kelsey Mitchell (515).

That run got started in her rookie season as Howard finished third in the league and broke a 20-year-old record for most 3-pointers made in a season by a rookie with 85. Caitlin Clark has been the only player to top that mark in 2024.

In addition to her 3-point shooting record, Howard swept Rookie of the Month honors in 2022, something that Miles just repeated for the first time in 2026.

Aliyah Boston (2023)

On her way to becoming only the fifth unanimous Rookie of the Year winner — joining A’ja Wilson (2018), Elena Delle Donne (2013), Tina Charles (2010) and Candace Parker (2008) — Boston made an immediate impact from day one in the WNBA.

She became the first (and still the only) rookie in WNBA history to lead the league in field goal percentage for a full season, shooting 57.8% from the field, which remains a career-high for the four-time All-Star. Boston also secured the second-most total rebounds by a rookie (335), trailing only Tina Charles.

Her 233 field goals made were the third most by a first-year player when she did it in 2023, but have since been topped by three players on this list: Clark, Paige Bueckers and Miles.

Caitlin Clark (2024)

Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever

After finishing her college career as the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women’s basketball history, Clark continued to get buckets, dish out dimes, and splash 3-pointers upon entering the WNBA as the No. 1 overall pick in 2024.

She finished her rookie season with 769 points, 337 assists and 122 3-pointers made, setting the rookie records in all three categories and topping the previous marks held by Seimone Augustus (744 points in 2006), Ticha Penicheiro (224 assists in 1998) and Howard (85 3-pointers made in 2022), respectively.

On an individual game level, Clark became the first rookie to post a triple-double (19 pts, 12 reb, 13 ast vs. New York on July 6, 2024) and set the WNBA record for most assists in a game (19) among all players, not just rookies — a mark that still stands today. In her first All-Star Game, she set the rookie record for assists (10) while starting for Team WNBA against the 2024 USA Olympic team.

Clark’s rookie scoring record may not stand much longer as she leads Miles (749) by only 20 points with four games to play once the season resumes after the FIBA World Cup.

Statistical Note

The number of games played has risen over the past five seasons, giving these new-age rookies more opportunities to add to their stat totals.

For example, Augustus holds the mark for highest scoring average by a rookie (21.9 over 34 games), while Clark ranks fourth for a full season (19.2 over 40 games) with Miles on track to pass her. However, Clark’s assist average (8.5) still topped Penicheiro’s 1998 mark (7.5).

Next year’s rookies will have a similar advantage in stat totals, as games played will increase to an all-time high of 50.

WNBA Games By Season

• 28 games: 1997
• 30 games: 1998
• 32 games: 1999-2002, 2021 (COVID)
• 34 games: 2003-2019
• 22 games: 2020 (COVID)
• 36 games: 2022
• 40 games: 2023-2024
• 44 games: 2025-2026
• 50 games: 2027

Paige Bueckers (2025)

Paige Bueckers #5 of the Dallas Wings

Similar to Clark (WNBA record 19 assists in a game) and Angel Reese (a trio of records we break down below), Bueckers put herself in the WNBA record book — and not just the rookie section — in her debut season.

On Aug. 20, 2025, against Los Angeles, Bueckers became the first player in WNBA history to score 40 points or more while shooting at least 80% from the field in a game. She finished with a rookie-record 44 points while shooting 17-for-21 (81%) in a historically efficient performance.

Bueckers became the first rookie in WNBA history to average at least 15.0 points and 5.0 assists and shoot 45.0 percent or higher from the field in a season, while also becoming the fastest player to hit 500 points and 100 assists for her career. She finished the season ranked third all-time in total rookie points (692) and total rookie assists (194), although she’s since been bumped down a notch by Miles in both categories.

She finished tied for second in double-digit scoring games by a rookie (35), while posting the second-most games by a rookie with at least 20 points and five assists (10).

Angel Reese (2024)

Reese established herself as one of the game’s premier rebounders during her collegiate run at LSU. She’s only added to that resume since entering the WNBA, as she posted three WNBA records (not rookie records) in her first season as a pro.

From June 1 – July 11, 2024, Reese played in 15 games for the Chicago Sky and racked up a double-double in each one of them, setting the record for the longest double-double streak that still stands to this day.

At the end of the season, Reese had collected 446 total rebounds and 172 offensive rebounds, setting the record for rebounding average (13.1) in league history. In fact, Reese owns the top three averages ever: 12.6 in 2025 and 12.4 so far in 2026.

Reese isn’t merely the only rookie to post three straight games with 20 or more rebounds — she’s the only player in WNBA history to have even two such games back-to-back. In addition to her season-long accolades, Reese also became the first rookie to post a double-double in the All-Star Game (12 pts, 11 reb).

Sonia Citron / Kiki Iriafen (2025)

Kiki Iriafen #44 and Sonia Citron #22 of the Washington Mystics

Following the selections of Bueckers and Dominique Malonga to open the 2025 WNBA Draft, the Mystics chose Citron and Iriafen with back-to-back picks at Nos. 3 and 4 as they looked to build a new foundation in The District. 

The duo made their mark for the Mystics during their rookie campaign. Citron set the record for most double-figure scoring games (38) by a rookie in league history, topping the previous mark of 35 set by Clark in 2024 and tied by Bueckers in 2025. Meanwhile, Iriafen collected the third-most rebounds by a rookie (376) in her first season, trailing only Charles (398) and Reese (446).

Both Citron and Iriafen earned All-Star honors in their debut season, becoming only the second rookie teammates to earn All-Star selections — and the first in 26 years, joining Shannon Johnson and Nykesha Sales (Orlando Miracle in 1999). Two years after being on the All-Rookie team together, Citron and Iriafen got the call to join Team USA together in Berlin to replace the injured Wilson and Plum.

Olivia Miles (2026)

Miles is close to completing a rookie campaign for the ages, placing herself firmly in the league MVP race while being the frontrunner to win Rookie of the Year honors.

As Miles chases the all-time rookie scoring record — she’s already set the Lynx’s franchise mark and now needs 21 points to surpass Clark’s current record — she continues to showcase her elite balance of scoring and playmaking. Miles became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 650 points and 200 assists, doing so in 32 games (one game faster than Clark’s 2024 pace).

At her current pace, Miles would finish the season with over 800 points and 250 assists, joining Clark as the only members of an exclusive club. If we want to compare averages to level the playing field across different season lengths, Miles (19.7 over 38 games) still ranks third behind Augustus (21.9 over 34 games in 2006) and Wilson (20.7 over 33 games in 2008).

In a June 4 win over Golden State, Miles scorched the nets with eight 3-pointers, setting the rookie record for most triples in a game, breaking the previous mark held by Clark and Crystal Robinson. The individual game records weren’t saved only for the regular season; Miles also topped Reese’s record for most rebounds (12) by a rookie in the WNBA All-Star Game.

As mentioned earlier, Miles swept this season’s four Rookie of the Month honors as she looks to cement herself among this group of new-era rookies ready to lead the WNBA moving forward.