Looking for free WNBA picks today? Odds Shark has WNBA predictions for March, 2021, WNBA ATS picks, WNBA basketball scores & WNBA computer picks. Please have a look at our Basketball Betting Tips section for more free tips for betting on WNBA games. There are a number of WNBA teams that are affiliated with a NBA team and many share an arena. In 2014, only the Chicago Sky, the Tulsa Shock, the Seattle Storm and the Connecticut Sun do not share an arena with a NBA team and of these four.
Every year at this time someone asks me the same question - should I bet on the WNBA? The answer is pretty much the same every time - absolutely. There is the practical reason - with the NBA and the NFL seasons done, baseball in the dog days of summer, and there's no World Cup or Olympics to distract us, it's not like we have a whole lot better to do. But beyond that, there are lots of reasons to bet this league. Here are three of the biggest ones (check the end of this article for tips from Doc’s Sports stable of expert WNBA handicappers):
Your work can pay dividends: You can't rely on your hard work to outsmart the oddsmakers when it comes to the NFL. I mean, some people can, but it takes a tremendous amount of effort, insight and talent to do that. For most people, the NFL oddsmakers are just plain smarter than you, and you have to deal with that to make some money. Unless you have four math degrees, a team of savants, and a supercomputer, you probably aren't getting a big edge mathematically. But in the WNBA that isn't always the case. The betting volume is low in the league, and when people aren't betting on it then oddsmakers don't care about it nearly as much. If you are willing to really do your homework, learn the league, and figure out what differentiates winners from losers, then you can actually create a true edge for yourself. And once you have an edge, you are on the road to profits.
This doesn't mean, of course, that all the lines are terrible, and that all you have to do is throw money anywhere and you will come out on top. It's never that easy, and the belief that it is easy is why sportsbooks make so much money. But if you do put the work in then - real, significant work - then your chances of success here are higher than most other leagues.
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The talent doesn't run deep: The top-end talent in the WNBA is very impressive. The best players are very much the best. But after the stars, the talent really falls off a cliff in a hurry. When teams are so top-heavy, then the availability and likely effectiveness of those players has a very significant outcome on the expected outcome of games. By putting in the time to really understand depth charts - at a level beyond what casual fans might - and to be as up to date as possible on injury reports and health status, you can have a much more accurate picture than most of what a team is going to look like.
It has never been easier to get true pictures of the health of teams if you want it and are willing to work a little. Most people rely on official injury reports from teams, and maybe a little national media coverage to go with it. But thanks to Twitter, Instagram, forums and the like, there is so much more information out there than ever before. You can look to beat reporters, super fans, or the players themselves to give you clues to what is going on - clues that others are overlooking.
The public isn't there: In the NFL there is a ton of public money thrown at every game and a whole lot of sharp money as well. Every time a line is set, you have to think whether it is a fair line or if it was set to compensate for the likely lunacy of the public. And every time a line makes a significant move, you have to play detective and figure out if it is moving because the sharps are pouncing or because the team was really great back in the '90s and bettors still love throwing money at them blindly. But in the WNBA the uninformed betting public is nowhere to be seen. That means when a line is set, we don't have to worry about crazy bettors with crazy opinions having their fingers all over the number. And when a line makes a big move, we know that it is sharp money behind it.
Related: Betting Against the Public
When a line moves in the NFL, we have to decide whether we should follow it or go against it - going against the public is almost always a good idea, but going against a sharp move can be costly. But in the WNBA, we always know what is driving a shift. Sharp money can have a big impact on lines in this league. And because betting volume is so low, it doesn't take much sharp money to make a move. In the NFL, sharps could be betting a line for several different reasons, and all could combine to make a move. But in the WNBA, it takes only a few sharps to make a big move, so they are likely all thinking the same thing. And over time it has been shown in the league that following some of those moves can be a very good thing. For example, when an underdog is on the rise in dramatic fashion, then jumping on them on the moneyline has consistently been fruitful.
Tips from Doc’s Sports WNBA expert handicappers:
“When betting on the WNBA, you must remember it’s a have/have not league. There are a handful of teams that have elite-level talent and are a matchup nightmare for their opponents. The rest of the league (the have nots) need to rely on team chemistry and a solid game plan to make up for the lack of star power and talent. We like to focus in on finding those mismatches and adjust our wagers accordingly.” – Doc’s Sports (No.1 WNBA Handicapper in 2019 +$6,270 profit).
“The WNBA, believe it or not, is very similar to the NBA. And if you are into algorithms and base it off predictable stats and behavior, then you will love the WNBA. The women in the league are much more predictable and more reliable in their performances.” – Arun Shiva (Three straight winning years and +10,990 total profit)
“The WNBA and the NBA work on many same principles. Some of the key factors that we use include the fact that when a top of the line team will face an ugly underdog, keep an eye on the ‘over’. We have always believed that if a team is out of the playoffs or near the bottom of the standings that they have a tendency to get up for the best teams in the league. That usually leads to a lot of points on both sides.” – Arun Shiva (Three straight winning years and +10,990 total profit)
“Betting the WNBA can be extremely rewarding to boost your bankroll for the major sports. Sportsbooks do not hone in on the WNBA like they do other major sports because it is not heavily wagered. So you can definitely find some very weak lines.” --- Vernon Croy (Three straight winning years and +10,870 total profit)
“One of the things that jumps out in betting the WNBA is the number of blowouts. There are a lot of games that just aren’t even close. So it is important to remember that when you’re betting on an underdog in the WNBA you should think that they have a chance to win the game. The idea that there is value in taking the points because a team can ‘keep it close’ is going to cause you a lot of heartbreak in the WNBA.” -- Robert Ferringo (Winning 2019 season and+2,110 closing run)
Other Notable Runs for Doc’s WNBA Expert Handicappers:
DOC’S SPORTS – Winning 2019 season (+6,270 profit)
RAPHAEL ESPARZA – Six of eight winning years
SCOTT SPREITZER – Winning 2019 season (+2,870 profit)
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The Women’s National Basketball Association, or the WNBA, is a 12 team professional basketball league played in the United States. The league was established on the 24th of April 1996 and the first league was played out in 1997. The regular season of the WNBA runs from May through to August and the finals of the WNBA season are held in September. The timing of the season means that basketball fans have something to follow all year round and there are many betting options available for WNBA.
Tipster | Tip-off | Home Team | Away Team | O/U | Odds | Free Tip | Sportsbook | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
WNBA tip locked in at 22/08 22:45 (Spread Result: 89-91, Totals: 183) | ||||||||||
giorgio | 23/08 23:00 | San Antonio StarsSAN | Minnesota LynxMIN | 156 | 1.85 | Over 156 | ||||
SPREAD | +3 | -3 | 1.93 | Minnesota LynxMIN | Bet ► |
Tipster | Tip-off | Home Team | Away Team | O/U | Odds | Free Tip | Sportsbook | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
WNBA tip locked in at 19/08 09:15 (Spread Result: 77.5-84, Totals: 172) | ||||||||||
giorgio | 22/08 02:00 | Minnesota LynxMIN | San Antonio StarsSAN | 158 | 1.91 | Over 158 | ||||
SPREAD | -10.5 | +10.5 | 1.91 | Minnesota LynxMIN | Bet ► |
There are a number of WNBA teams that are affiliated with a NBA team and many share an arena. In 2014, only the Chicago Sky, the Tulsa Shock, the Seattle Storm and the Connecticut Sun do not share an arena with a NBA team and of these four, only the Seattle Storm don’t share a market with a NBA team. These four teams, as well as the Los Angeles Sparks and the Atlanta Dream are all owned independently. Given that previously, all of the teams in the WNBA were owned by the WNBA, this is important progress being made by the league.
Some of the current records for the league that are worth pointing out include:
As you would expect, there are similarities between the WNBA and the NBA. There is a WNBA Draft, which takes place every spring and at the moment, it is held at the headquarters of ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut. There are three rounds in the draft with every one of the 12 teams having three picks, although some picks can be traded. The order of the draft sees the team with the highest record in the previous section picking last. With 8 teams qualifying for the process, the remaining 4 teams, the non-play-off qualifiers, have their order selected in a manner similar to the NBA Draft. As you can see, the WNBA and the NBA are not so different and the betting guides for both leagues are similar.
The training camps for each team begin in early May and this is when coaches and teams will select their 11 player roster for the campaign. When training camp is concluded, a number of pre-season exhibition games take place and then the regular WNBA season gets underway in May.
The regular season sees each team playing a total of 34 games, with 17 at home and 17 away. Every team will play against three in-conference teams four times (12 games) and against two of their in-conference teams five times (10 games). There are then two games against six teams from outside of their conference (12 games).
The teams in the Eastern Conference are:
Logo | City | Team Name | Official Website |
---|---|---|---|
Atlanta | Dream | wnba.com/dream/ | |
Indiana | Fever | wnba.com/fever/ | |
Connecticut | Sun | wnba.com/sun/ | |
Chicago | Sky | wnba.com/sky/ | |
Washington | Mystics | wnba.com/mystics/ | |
New York | Liberty | wnba.com/liberty/ |
The teams in the Western Conference are:
Logo | City | Team Name | Official Website |
---|---|---|---|
Minnesota | Lynx | wnba.com/lynx/ | |
Phoenix | Mercury | wnba.com/mercury/ | |
San Antonio | Stars | wnba.com/stars/ | |
Tulsa | Shock | wnba.com/shock/ | |
Seattle | Storm | wnba.com/storm/ | |
Los Angeles | Sparks | wnba.com/sparks/ |
There is a pause to the regular season in July for the WNBA All-Star Game, which has grown into a week-long celebration and fans have the opportunity to vote for players they want to see involved in the game as players from the Western Conference square off to players from the Eastern Conference. The All-Star celebrations are followed by trading deadline, which is when teams must have their roster for the remainder of the season scheduled. When there is an Olympic year, the WNBA takes a month-long hiatus for the duration of the tournament.
The Play-offs take place near the end of September with four teams from each conference making it through. The format sees the top seed from a conference play the fourth seed while the second and third seeds play each other. These are a best of three series with the top ranked seed having games 1 and 3 at home while the lower ranked seed plays the second game at home.
The WNBA Finals are a best of five series and the pattern is a 2-2-1 pattern, which sees one team playing games 1,2 and 5 at home while the other team hosts games 3 and 4. These games are hotly anticipated and draw huge crowds at the arena and on live streaming around the world.