WNBA MVP FUTURES: BEST ODDS AND PICKS – JULY 2024

WNBA MVP FUTURES BEST ODDS AND PICKS – JULY 2024 — Greetings, basketball fans. Welcome back to our WNBA coverage here at Godzilla Wins. With the league on hiatus for the next month due to the upcoming Olympics, it is a great time to discuss where things stand in the association regarding the players with the best MVP odds.

Last season, Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty), Alyssa Thomas (Connecticut Sun), and A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces) rounded out the top three spots in the MVP race. Does this trio lead the field this season as well?

Let’s take a look and find out.

Odds courtesy of DraftKings as of July 23, 2024

Top WNBA MVP Odds: A’ja Wilson (-3000)

Wilson finished third in the MVP race last season but comes in as the odds-on favorite at the midway point of the 2024 campaign, and rightfully so. She has posted career-highs in points (27.2), rebounds (11.9), assists (2.5), steals, and blocks (2.8). Wilson is also shooting 52.7 percent from the field, which represents the second-highest conversion rate of her career.

From a league perspective, Wilson leads the field in scoring. She is second in rebounding, first in blocks, and fourth in steals. As one would expect, Wilson has had a couple of noteworthy performances this season.

One of those solid outings occurred in an 84-79 win over the Seattle Storm on July 10. In that contest, she finished with 24 points on 7-for-18 shooting from the field and a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripe. She also collected 20 rebounds, marking the first 20-20 game of her career and the 21^st 20-20 game in WNBA history.

As impressive as that outing was, this was not even her best game of the season.

A’ja Wilson – Featured Game

Two days later, in a victory against the Atlanta Dream, Wilson’s final stat line included 33 points, 18 rebounds, five blocks, and three steals. She shot an efficient 13-for-23 from the field, and she knocked down three of her four attempts from beyond the arc en route to her seventh 30-point game of the season.

It is outings like these that demonstrate why Wilson is a force to be reckoned with at both ends of the floor. Barring a major collapse during the second half of the season, the MVP award is Wilson’s to lose.

Second-Best WNBA MVP Odds: Sabrina Ionescu (+7500)

New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu comes in at the No. 2 spot in the MVP odds race. Following a 2021 season in which she averaged 11.7 points per contest, Ionescu has averaged at least 17 points per outing in her last three seasons.

This includes a career-best scoring average of 19.4 points per game this season, along with 6.2 assists. She leads the Liberty in both categories.

Sabrina Ionescu – Featured Game

One of Ionescu’s top all-around performances took place in the last game before the All-Star break.

In an 82-74 win over the Connecticut Sun, Ionescu finished with 30 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and 6-of-11 from three-point range. She also added six rebounds, five assists, and two steals and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line.

Although it is highly doubtful that Ionescu will overtake Wilson in the MVP conversation, she figures to play an integral role in the Liberty’s chances of returning to the WNBA Finals after falling short last season.

Third-Best WNBA MVP Odds: Caitlin Clark (+7500)

Coming off a collegiate career in which she became the all-time leading scorer in college basketball history, Caitlin Clark was the Fever’s top overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. And as the No. 1 pick, the expectations were sky-high long before she stepped onto a WNBA court.

Considering the adjustment from college to the pros, there have been some growing pains for Clark. At the same time, the Indiana Fever guard has also produced a few memorable moments for the team’s fanbase as well.

Caitlin Clark – Featured Game

One of those memorable moments occurred in a game against the New York Liberty on July 6. The Fever trailed 62-55 heading into the final frame. But thanks to a solid defensive effort that saw them outscore the Liberty by a 28-16 margin in the game’s final 10 minutes, Indiana came away with an 83-78 victory. Not only did the Fever snap New York’s five-game winning streak, they also snapped a nine-game losing streak against New York.

Clark finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 13 assists. This outing marked the first time in WNBA history that a rookie posted a triple-double. Additionally, this would be the first game of a three-game stretch in which the rookie guard finished with 13 assists. Furthermore, during a stretch that spanned from July 2 through July 17, Clark tallied 10-plus assists five times in six outings.

Caitlin Clark Is A Future Star Of The WNBA

While Clark’s on-court feats have lived up to the hype, she has also contributed to the growing popularity of women’s basketball. For example, before the season began, it was reported that the Fever would play 36 of their 40 games on national television. Additionally, there have been multiple instances in which opposing teams have changed home venues to accommodate a larger audience when Indiana comes to town.

Just as important as the increased viewership, the Fever are currently tied with the Chicago Sky for the seventh-best record in the league playoff race. This is certainly a pleasant surprise since the team has missed the playoffs in each of the last seven seasons. Like Ionescu, Clark will not be able to make up enough ground to leapfrog A’ja Wilson in the MVP race.

However, she is in the Rookie of the Year conversation and has created a ton of buzz in her first season. Based on what we have seen, Clark has the potential to be a star in the league for many years to come.