Lynx favored to win title, then Aces and Liberty

The Minnesota Lynx volition participate the WNBA playoffs favored to triumph it all, but they'll beryllium watching implicit their shoulders for the 2 astir caller league champions.

Minnesota is the statement favourite to triumph their archetypal rubric since 2017 crossed the sportsbook marketplace, showing +110 likelihood astatine ESPN BET. The surging Las Vegas Aces athletics +260 odds, portion the reigning champion New York Liberty are astatine +350. From there, it's a steep dropoff to the third-seeded Atlanta Dream astatine +1000.

It volition beryllium the archetypal clip the Lynx participate the postseason arsenic the rubric favorites since they won their past 1 of the Maya Moore epoch successful 2017; the past clip they were favored during a regular play was 2018, the last twelvemonth of Moore's Hall of Fame career.

Meanwhile, the Aces made an bonzer surge up the likelihood committee with their 16-game winning streak to extremity the regular season. At ESPN BET, Becky Hammon's squad opened the run astatine +400 to triumph the title, but fell to a agelong of +3000 successful mid-August amid a sluggish commencement to the season. However, the Aces' beardown decorativeness landed them astatine their existent odds, propelling them past the Liberty aft the last time of the regular season.

Las Vegas' heroics besides boosted A'ja Wilson's chances to triumph MVP implicit Minnesota's Napheesa Collier. On Aug. 3, Collier was an tremendous -1100 favourite with Wilson astatine 100-1, but by the adjacent of the market, Wilson was the immense favourite astatine -700 and Collier sat astatine +500.

In general, though, sportsbooks were good alert of Las Vegas' pedigree, allowing them to decently negociate the publication connected them, arsenic good arsenic the different 2 apical contenders.

"Those 3 teams, I would deliberation that's wherever your victor comes from," DraftKings Sportsbook manager Johnny Avello told ESPN. "When you look astatine these playoff games, these teams are going to beryllium beauteous hefty favorites. So, america personally, we're successful bully signifier successful the aboriginal publication with those 3 teams. Good occupation by the [bookmaking] squad monitoring the futures during the year."

Sportsbooks besides people buoyed their title liability due to the fact that of the betting public's early, rabid involvement successful Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever, who present look agelong 100-1 likelihood to triumph it each aft Clark was ruled retired for the remainder of the twelvemonth with a groin injury. Indiana volition besides beryllium missing Sophie Cunningham, Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald among others, for the playoff run.

All the same, ESPN BET reports 27.1% of its tickets and a starring 31.2% of its grip successful the title marketplace backing the Fever.

The 1 liability sportsbooks bash mostly person is connected the upstart Golden State Valkyries, who made past by making the playoffs successful their archetypal play arsenic an enlargement team. They look a steep ascent to the apical with 100-1 likelihood and a first-round matchup with Minnesota awaiting them, but bettors intelligibly emotion the underdog story.

"Outside of the apical three, the Valkyries drew involvement successful their debut play arsenic they acold exceeded expectations," ESPN BET elder manager of North American sports trading Adrian Horton said implicit email. "While conscionable 2% of grip is connected Golden State, they're 1 of our biggest liabilities fixed their longer likelihood successful the futures market."

Overall, 2025 represented different robust play for WNBA betting arsenic the league continues to turn -- a wide indicator of the Clark effect, whether she's capable to vie for the rubric this play oregon not.

"Unfortunately, Caitlin Clark missed astir of the regular play owed to injury. That didn't halt bettors from wagering connected the WNBA," BetMGM elder trading manager Christian Cipollini said successful an email release. "We saw much enactment connected the league this play than earlier Clark joined the league. With important enactment connected the Fever, the sportsbook is comfy with the Lynx, Aces oregon Liber...