Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston (7) and Dallas Wings center Teaira McCowan (15) leap for the ball at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, Sept. 15, 2024.
(Reuters) — The Indiana Fever limped into the playoffs by losing three of their final four games, and are underdogs entering their first-round series against the third-seeded Connecticut Sun.
While networks would love nothing more than an extended postseason run for the Caitlin Clark-led Fever, Indiana (20-20) claiming the title would serve sportsbooks a massive loss.
The sixth-seeded Fever are +165 underdogs at DraftKings to upset the Sun (-190) in their best-of-three series, and Indiana enters the playoffs fifth among the eight teams at +2800 to win the title. That hasn’t deterred the public, which has backed the Fever with 63% of all money wagered on this year’s WNBA champions.
That far outweighs the New York Liberty, who have been backed by 13% of the money and are the +145 title favorites. Third is the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces with 9% at +250.
The story is similar at BetMGM, where the Fever opened at +2500 but are now +3000 longshots. They still have received more money backing them than every other team combined at 61.7% to go along with 46.8% of all title bets placed.
WNBA title odds (opening, current)
New York Liberty (+225, +120)
Las Vegas Aces (+100, +225)
Minnesota Lynx (+6000, +240)
Connecticut Sun (+1200, +800)
Indiana Fever (+2000, +3000)
Seattle Storm (+1000, +4000)
Phoenix Mercury (+4000, +15000)
Atlanta Dream (+5000, +25000)
The Liberty finished the regular season 32-8 to take over the mantle as title favorites from the Aces, who slid to fourth place at 27-13. However, Las Vegas did win nine of its final 10 games.
The biggest movers have been the Lynx, who surprised with their second-place record of 30-10. They are now +240 after opening the season at +6000. Minnesota opens against the seventh-seeded Mercury.
The other two first-round matchups pit the Aces against the Storm and the Liberty against the Atlanta Dream, who didn’t secure their playoff spot until the final day of the regular season.
Aces star A’ja Wilson remains the heavy favorite to win Finals MVP honors, drawing 39.6% of the money at +225 at BetRivers. The most overall bets have supported Clark, who has been backed by 38.6% of the Finals MVP bets despite having only the ninth shortest odds at +3000.
Former UConn star Napheesa Collier has been overshadowed by the likes of Wilson, Clark and Chicago star rookie Angel Reese this season, but she led Minnesota to the No. 2 seed by averaging 20.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.
Collier is the book’s third biggest liability to win Finals MVP, drawing 28.6% of the money at +275.
