The Las Vegas Aces buffed up their 2019 WNBA Championship odds after acquiring Liz Cambage — who joins a starting five that features back-to-back-to-back No. 1 draft picks — rising all the way to +280 at FanDuel Sportsbook as of Friday.
Still, the WNBA futures market can be very inefficient. There are a slew of high-profile injuries that appear unaccounted for at some books. The good news? That means there's value to exploit.
Matt Moore, Justin Phan and Bill Monighetti their favorite futures bets ahead of the regular season, which tips off Friday night.
2019 WNBA CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS
- Las Vegas Aces: +280
- Washington Mystics: +320
- Los Angeles Sparks: +390
- Connecticut Sun: +750
- Phoenix Mercury: +850
- Atlanta Dream: +950
- Seattle Storm: +1600
- Minnesota Lynx: +3600
- Chicago Sky: +5500
- Dallas Wings: +8000
- New York Liberty: +10000
- Indiana Fever: +10000
All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook as of May 24
>> All odds as of Friday morning. Download The Action Network App to get real-time WNBA odds and track your bets.
2019 WNBA FUTURES
Justin Phan: Mercury to win WNBA Championship (+850)
It's worth noting that the Mercury's odds have moved significantly over the past week: They were 10-1 to win the title as recently as this past Friday at Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.
Phoenix enters the season with a few big question marks, namely the health of Diana Taurasi, who is currently four weeks into an expected 10-12 week timetable following back surgery.
Even with Taurasi’s health in question and the recent odds movement, 7-1 for a team that was minutes away from beating the eventual champions in the semifinals are still solid value.
With Taurasi, Brittney Griner and DeWanna Bonner, the Mercury have arguably three of the top 10 players in the league. They’ll welcome back a healthier Briann January, who played the entire season with a dislocated shoulder and had surgery in the offseason to address it. They added Essence Carson in free agency as well as three of the top-13 rookies in the draft. They could also get Sancho Lyttle back from a torn ACL as soon as the season opener (coach Sandy Brondello said Lyttle might be available to play limited minutes).
All roads will likely lead through Las Vegas with the Aces' addition of Liz Cambage, but Phoenix is one of few teams that have the top-end talent necessary to compete with them.
Bill Monighetti: Sparks to win WNBA Championship (+390)
While all eyes will be on Vegas following the Aces’ acquisition of Cambage, we should be careful not to overlook the Sparks in 2019.
Looking around the league, many of last year’s contenders project to be worse this season:
- Minnesota will be without Maya Moore for the season.
- Atlanta will be without Angel McCoughtry, the Dream's top scorer, at least to start the season.
- Phoenix will struggle to replace Taurasi over the season’s first half with the team’s questionable depth.
- Seattle, the defending champs, will be without reigning league MVP Breanna Stewart, who tore her Achilles while playing overseas.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles failed to acquire Cambage, but it did reload by uniting Nneka Ogwumike with her sister Chiney, who was acquired in an offseason trade with Connecticut.
Once Candace Parker returns from a hamstring injury she's currently nursing, the Sparks will roll out four legitimate All-Star caliber players each night with Parker, the Ogwumike sisters and Chelsea Gray.
The Sparks seem to be in title contention every season and there’s no reason we should expect that to change in 2019 considering they're part of the small minority of contending teams to improve their talent level heading into the season.
Matt Moore: Mystics to win WNBA Championship (+320)
We are overthinking this, folks.
Stewie is out. Maya is out. Bird is out. The Lynx and Sparks are realigning. The Aces are unproven and coached like it’s 1985.
The Mystics made the Finals, were great in the East and had the best spot-up shooting percentage league-wide. They were third-best in halfcourt offense, third-best in transition and have the playoff chops. In any playoff series, they're likely to have the best player on the floor in Elena Delle Donne. And you can get them at +320. What are we doing here?
Kristi Toliver, LaToya Sanders, Natasha Cloud and Aerial Powers are all back. They have continuity and they’re the last team healthy. Don't get suckered in by the noise. This is the best team in the league.
Mystics all the way.
