The report says Miles was used mainly as a centre-forward, even if she had the touch and awareness of a more creative attacking midfielder.
That matters because elite passers rarely see only one option. Forwards learn to read defenders’ hips, anticipate second movements and arrive in windows before others notice them. Those habits travel.
Miles herself said, in the report, that football helped sharpen her passing timing and her feel for openings on the court. That rings true. Football teaches rhythm: when to release early, when to wait half a beat, when a narrow lane is still playable.
In basketball, that becomes the split-second pass into traffic that looks impossible until it arrives exactly on time.
Mamukelashvili’s comparisons were striking. He linked Miles to Lionel Messi for close-control work in tight spaces, and to Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale for directness, power and acceleration.
Those are not literal like-for-like comparisons, of course. They are a football coach’s shorthand for a rare mix: craft in congestion and force in transition.
As Miles’ career keeps moving forward, that football schooling will remain a fascinating subplot. The next thing to watch is whether her feel for space - learned with the goal in front of her - continues to make everyone around her better.