The Las Vegas Aces claimed the 2022 WNBA championship and, while they were celebrating, appeared to be having a great time. But they have been locked into defending their title while teams around the league tried to improve their WNBA futures.
Las Vegas Aces (+120)
The Aces are the favorites at +120 as they return their core with A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, and even added Candace Parker from the Chicago Sky. It is easy to see why they would be the favorites after adding one of the sport’s most memorable post players.
New York Liberty (+130)
But the New York Liberty was determined to improve, and they did that in a huge way. They are +130 in WNBA futures to win the championship and could easily make for an entertaining WNBA Finals should the two meet.
The Liberty already had star wing Sabrina Ionescu and center Stefanie Dolson. This winter, they added arguably the league’s best player in versatile forward Breanna Stewart, the game’s best point guard in Courtney Vandersloot, and another dominant wing/post in Jonquel Jones.
A great WNBA prediction would be for those two to meet in the WNBA Finals and pick one as a winner. It would be relatively easy money because each team is loaded so it can afford to lose a star to an injury.
Best of the rest
Washington Mystics (+1400)
Then there are the Washington Mystics, who are third at winning the championship with +1400 odds. One of the best players in basketball remains Elena Delle Donne. She is a unicorn of sorts as a guard at 6 foot 5.
There are now plenty of younger players around Delle Donne who should help them with WNBA odds throughout the season. Evina Westbrook, Emily Engstler, and Shakira Austin have a year under their belts. But veterans like Kristi Tolliver and Natasha Cloud remain, too. Plus, Jazmine Jones is a big, physical guard who can switch things up and become a mismatch problem for opposing teams.
Connecticut Sun (+1800)
To round out the top third of the league is the Connecticut Sun at +1800. Though they lost Jones to the Liberty, they still have a solid core coming back, and WNBA lines should benefit them moving forward.
The Sun will have some difficult decisions in cutting their roster down, but as the playoffs wore on, it was clear that 13-year veteran wing DeWanna Bonner was the leader of the team. Playing alongside Rebecca Allen, Alyssa Thomas, and Brionna Jones gave the Sun a great veteran core to build around.
A longshot?
Phoenix Mercury (+2000)
The best value pick looking at WNBA futures has to be the Phoenix Mercury at +2000. The Mercury are a veteran team who had their issues both in the paint and on the perimeter.
They really missed the presence of Brittney Griner, who was detained in Russia in February 2022 and was not released until December. It was evident that the absence of Griner, who is 6-9, not only bothered the team on the court, but off it.
Griner brings an imposing paint presence that lends itself to blocked shots and securing rebounds. Her ability to do those two things is such a big impact that it was not even the ways she can score in the post and facing the basket that the team missed.
It should help the perimeter defense, knowing that they have Griner behind them to protect the rim. That should allow sharpshooter Sophie Cunningham to comfortably space the floor offensively without sacrificing much on the defensive end. It also gives guards Skylar Diggins-Smith and the veteran Diana Taurasi someone to play off of in pick and rolls.
The future
It is really hard to see a team knocking off either the Aces or Liberty without having injury issues to impede their progress. Each team has to hope to stay healthy, and the Aces keep Becky Hammon as their coach through the NBA coaching carousel.
It is going to be a fun WNBA season just to watch those two teams play.
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