WNBA odds show huge gap between Aces, Liberty and everyone else
Give me Liberty or give me the Aces to win the WNBA title.
The two superteams have clearly separated themselves from the pack in the 12-team league and appear to be on a collision course for the WNBA Finals this season, which starts Friday.
“You have two superteams in the WNBA and then a few good teams and a lot of teams trying to get up to that status,” Westgate SuperBook WNBA oddsmaker Jeff Sherman said.
The Aces are even-money favorites at the SuperBook to repeat as WNBA champions, and the New York Liberty are the +110 second choice, with the Washington Mystics a distant 16-1 third pick.
At Circa Sports, the Aces are +110 and the Liberty +115. At Caesars, the Liberty are even-money favorites and the Aces are the +125 second pick.
The Aces return their core four from last year’s title team in reigning and two-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, WNBA Finals MVP Chelsea Gray and fellow All-Stars Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young. They bolstered their lineup with the additions of two-time league MVP Candace Parker and two-time WNBA champion Alysha Clark.
New York won the offseason as it added a pair of former league MVPs in Breanna Stewart (2018) and Jonquel Jones (2021) and fellow four-time All-Star Courtney Vandersloot to a team that already featured All-Stars Sabrina Ionescu and Betnijah Laney.
“One thing the Aces have going for them is chemistry and cohesiveness because they haven’t changed too many parts,” Sherman said. “It might take the Liberty a little time to get that going. That’s the only difference between the teams right now. But when we get to the end of the season, the difference should really be marginal.”
Each team has three of the top 12 MVP candidates at Caesars. Stewart is the +275 favorite, followed by Wilson at +325. Plum is the 6-1 fourth pick, and Ionescu is the 7-1 fifth choice. Parker is 30-1 and Jones is 35-1.
The Aces and Liberty lead the regular season win totals at the Westgate with 30½ apiece in the record-high 40-game schedule.
The Liberty play their season opener at the Mystics on Friday, while the Aces open at the Seattle Storm on Saturday.
“I would have each of those teams as favorites in each game they play, even road games, if they’re not playing each other,” Sherman said. “I consider Washington the next best team, but the Aces and Liberty would both be favored at Washington.”
Caesars also has a prop on whether the Aces and Liberty will meet in the WNBA Finals. Yes is a -180 favorite.
In a prop to win the title, the Aces or Liberty are -800 over the field (+550).
The superteams will meet four times in the regular season: June 29 and Aug. 17 in Las Vegas and Aug. 6 and Aug. 28 at New York.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.