The 2026 WNBA season begins soon, with the New York Liberty favored to win the championship and Caitlin Clark favored for MVP. Bettors have opportunities to place futures wagers before the season starts.
Key points
2026 WNBA season starts on Friday
New York Liberty favored to win championship at +200
Caitlin Clark favored for MVP at +225
Golden State Valkyries over 22.5 wins bet recommended
New York LibertyGolden State Valkyries
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The 2026 WNBA season starts on Friday, which means there is still time to place a few futures wagers ahead of it.
The New York Liberty (+200) are the favorites to win it all, while Caitlin Clark (+225) is the favorite to win MVP at sportsbooks. Is either one a good bet at that price?
I’ll be writing on the WNBA throughout the season here on Yahoo, so here are three must-place futures bets before the games get going.
Win totals are my favorite futures market. They have two-way action (instead of awards with double-digit options), low market holds and are available all season to pivot as needed — or even double down.
The Valkyries enter their second season as a WNBA franchise with some big advantages. They had the best defense in the league last year and just added the most versatile defender in the WNBA in Gabby Williams. In my opinion, they have the best coach in the WNBA in Natalie Nakase, and coaching plus defense create regular-season wins.
They might have the strongest home court advantage in the league as well, with league-best attendance and every single game sold out (same crowd size as Warriors games)!
At 22.5 wins in a 44-game season, we just need them to be above .500 — that is a no brainer to me, as barring injury I think they could push 30 wins.
Fun fact about the Valkyries: They were an expansion team during a summer that FIBA Women’s EuroBasket had a big tournament. They had numerous key players leave mid-season to go represent their countries. The reason why the Valkyries were able to bring in such a talented group in an expansion draft is because the players' former teams knew they would miss multiple weeks in the middle of the WNBA season and it was a reason skilled players were unprotected. This timing created a huge edge for Valkyries to bring in talent as an expansion team — something I don’t expect the or to replicate this year.
Q&A
What are the odds for Caitlin Clark to win MVP in the 2026 WNBA season?
Caitlin Clark is currently favored to win MVP with odds of +225.
Which team is favored to win the 2026 WNBA championship?
The New York Liberty are the favorites to win the 2026 WNBA championship with odds of +200.
What are some recommended futures bets for the 2026 WNBA season?
One recommended futures bet is the Golden State Valkyries over 22.5 wins at -115 odds.
When does the 2026 WNBA season start?
The 2026 WNBA season starts on Friday.
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*Valkyries to make the playoffs (-155) and Valkyries -4 vs. Seattle Storm on opening night honorable mentions bets worth placing
Caitlin Clark to win 2026 WNBA MVP (+225)
Clark comes in as the favorite, likely in big part because of the expected handle on her, but the basketball angle really lines up well this year.
Clark was the favorite before getting hurt last season, and was top three in MVP voting during her rookie campaign. Clark is reportedly completely healthy and is even talking about going lighter at practice to make sure her body is ready for the full season — noting that going easier in practice isn’t something she has been used to.
The reasons for Clark are obvious in her game — high usage creates huge stats in points, assists, team output and rebounds. She will likely lead the league in triple doubles. But the reasons to target Clark for me have more to do with the other candidates being a weaker pool this season.
Clark’s main competition are A’ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier and Alyssa Thomas — three superstars who all saw their teams get worse in the offseason. The players with the fourth- and fifth-best odds are Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu, teammates on the Liberty who are also playing with former MVP Jonquel Jones and a top 5 MVP candidate just last season in Satou Sabally. This team is loaded with superstars, and picking one player to give the credit to will be hard to justify.
Paige Bueckers and Kelsey Plum are long shots who won’t put up nearly the stats Clark will if healthy. Bueckers operates with elite efficiency but on a worse team, while Plum is high volume but the Sparks will be fighting for a playoff spot.
It seems chalky, but here it is worth laying. Clark may be -150 just 10 days into the season.
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MAY 02: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever dribbles the ball upcourt against the Nigeria National Team during the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on May 02, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Bobby Goddin/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MAY 02: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever dribbles the ball upcourt against the Nigeria National Team during the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on May 02, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Bobby Goddin/Getty Images)
(Bobby Goddin via Getty Images)
Flau’jae Johnson to win WNBA Rookie of the Year (10-1)
Word coming out of the Seattle Storm’s preseason camp is that Johnson is going to see huge usage for this rebuilding team. The Storm underwhelmed last season and gutted their roster. They fired coach Noelle Quinn and traded three All-Stars in Skylar Diggins, Nneka Ogumwike and Gabby Williams. At midseason last year the Storm also acquired high-volume scorer Brittney Sykes — who also departed to join the Toronto Tempo.
The Storm will rely on second-year big Dominique Malonga, another rookie Awa Fam and Johnson. Johnson will be the primary scorer here, which is a key metric in Rookie of the Year races.
The top two picks in this years WNBA draft went to places to instantly fill roles. Azzi Fudd is going to be a shooter and efficiency player alongside Bueckers in Dallas; and Olivia Miles is an understudy to Courtney Williams and Collier in Minnesota. This is the prime year to target a scorer on a rebuilding team for WNBA ROTY.
