New York Liberty, favorites for the WNBA championship, but the Indiana Fever lurks
The New York Liberty are shaping up to be the fourth team in WNBA history to achieve consecutive championships. However, Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever is positioning itself as a strong contender, attracting the preference of the betting public.
According to ESPN BET odds, New York starts the 2025 WNBA season as the favorite with +230 to win the title in October. They are followed by Indiana and Las Vegas Aces, both with +350, and the Minnesota Lynx, last season’s runners-up, with +400.
This situation reflects the growing parity in the league. It’s the first time since ESPN Research began tracking in 2019 that four teams have odds of +400 or less to win the championship at the start of the season.
The Fever is the most popular choice among the betting public. The main sportsbooks indicate that Indiana is the most backed team to win the title in terms of bets and money volume. DraftKings reports that an astonishing 84% of the money backs Clark and her team.
They poured on the Fever from the start. I don’t know how, unless Indiana completely collapses, bettors will stop betting on them. Last year they weren’t bad at all with just Clark, but now they have more players to help her. I just don’t see them not being in this mix.
Johnny Avello, director of sports betting at DraftKings
The Fever represents a significant risk for major sportsbooks and could have a real chance of winning the title after their significant offseason transactions. In mid-April, ESPN BET’s director of sports operations, Adrian Horton, described Clark’s team as “our biggest liability by a wide margin.”
Avello explains that the other three favorites (New York, Las Vegas, and Minnesota) received comparatively very little attention this offseason, with DraftKings reporting a combined 8% of the betting volume backing the group, which would be a good outcome for the sportsbook if any of them were to win the title.
In addition to Indiana, Avello notes that the only bad result for the sportsbook would be if the Phoenix Mercury (+1000) won the title, as they have accumulated 4% of the money wagered on DraftKings. ESPN BET and FanDuel also report some bets on the Dallas Wings, who moved from +7500 to +6000 at the start. Paige Bueckers, the Wings’ first overall pick, is dominating the Rookie of the Year betting (-375) with 65.8% of the betting volume on ESPN BET.
Still, bettors will back the experience in Dallas’s opening game against Minnesota, as the Lynx have received 72.8% of the money to cover -7.5 on Friday night.
