WNBA's All-Rookie Team features one inexplicable snub originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
There is a lot of young talent in the WNBA. For five -- or six -- spaces on an All-Rookie Team, it's completely understandable that some deserving candidates are going to get left out.
But when the WNBA revealed its 2026 All-Rookie side on Wednesday, it was more than a little surprising not to see Awa Fam's name included.
Fam, the third overall pick in the 2026 draft, did not make the cut in a fairly obvious snub of the Spanish phenom.
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The All-Rookie Team had to include Olivia Miles, who was unanimously voted Rookie of the Year and placed second in WNBA MVP voting. Flau'jae Johnson, Fam's teammate with the Seattle Storm, finished second in rookie scoring behind Miles and had to be here, too. The New York Liberty's uber-efficient Pauline Astier also merited inclusion after she stabilized that team's backcourt.
But Fam had a legitimate case for inclusion over the other three selections -- all guards. And that includes Azzi Fudd, the top pick in the draft.
2026 WNBA All-Rookie Team 🏀
Pauline Astier of the @nyliberty
Azzi Fudd of the @DallasWings
Flau'jae Johnson of the @seattlestorm
Olivia Miles of the @minnesotalynx
Kiki Rice of @TempoBasketball
Sydney Taylor of the @chicagosky#WNBASeason30 https://t.co/xWQdMqp0nj
— WNBA (@WNBA) October 14, 2026
Fam played more minutes than Fudd, Kiki Rice and Sydney Taylor. The 6'4'' forward led all rookies in total rebounds and in rebounds per game while placing third among rookies in blocks. She scored more points than Astier and Rice, and she shot better from the floor than Taylor and Johnson.
The WNBA made clear that Rice and Astier "tied" for the fifth spot on the All-Rookie Team, which meant both players had to be honored.
On an all-guard All-Rookie team where the rules are flexible, including Fam -- who may have the highest ceiling of any rookie save Miles -- should have been a formality.