There have been several teams across the WNBA’s history that have emerged as true dynastic champions and threats for the title; the Houston Comets won the league’s first four championships but were forced to fold during the great recession in 2008.
The Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm have since tied the Comets’ record mark with four titles, while the Phoenix Mercury was also a popular face in the 2010s and early 2020s.
Placing a WNBA bet is a lot like it is in other sports; the gambler must first decide whether they want to bet on a game or a future outcome in a market known as “futures”; if they opt for a single game, there are plenty of different forms the bet can come in.
For example, the moneyline; the moneyline is a straight-up prediction on which team will win a certain game.
This bet does not account for any sort of external factors and only cares about the final result of the game, no excuses, and no exceptions.
WNBA spreads are a way of leveling the playing field between two opponents as they spot the underdog a certain amount of points, while the favorite deducted the same amount of points.
For example, pretend that the Phoenix Mercury is expected to easily beat the Indiana Fever in their upcoming game— oddsmakers will calculate how many points they expect the Mercury to win by and then attribute that to their “spread.”
Spreads will look like “Phoenix Mercury -7.5” and “Indiana Fever +7.5,” with the “-” indicating the favored team and the “+” highlighting the underdog.
In this example, if the Mercury wins by more than 7.5 points, then they cover the spread, but if they win by fewer than 7.5 points or lose outright, then they do not cover the spread. The same rule applies, just in reverse, to the Fever.
If a spread is a whole number, say three points, it is possible that the game ends in a three-point differential, and neither team wins.
In this case, the bet is voided, the deposit attributed to the wager is returned to the bettor, and everyone goes home with the same amount of money that they entered with.
Points totals are also a fan favorite in WNBA lines as they allow bettors to predict whether a game will go over or under a stated amount of points, with the same rules of voiding, if necessary, in play.
Prop bets represent a smaller betting market with wide availability of “fun” bets that are secondary to the outcome.
This can include a player’s total for points scored, which team will win the tip-off, or if there will be a dunk in the game.
Props are great fun for newer and casual bettors but also a great resource for experienced veterans.
Finally, futures— futures can apply to a wide assortment of bets, including wins, losses, conference winners, playoff winners, championship winners, MVPs, Finals MVPs, and more.
These are a great opportunity for bettors to maximize profits, though this is accomplished by taking on greater risk.