2020 WNBA betting odds see Mystics set for back-to-back championships

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Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne (11) and Washington Mystics Head Coach Mike Thibault in the background during Game 1 of the WNBA Finals between the Connecticut Sun and the Washington Mystics at Entertainment and Sports Arena, Washington, DC, USA on September 29, 2019. Photo Credit: Chris Poss

After much speculation, the 2020 WNBA season is set to tip off in late July at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, the league announced Monday. The announcement comes after the league came to an agreement with its players union on a shortened, 22-game regular season followed by a traditional playoff format that would run into October.

There was much excitement ahead of this season following a bustling free agency period in which several star players switched sides. In a blockbuster deal, Skylar Diggins-Smith left the Dallas Wings after seven seasons to join forces with Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner in Phoenix. The New York Liberty — who were set to play at the Barclays Center for the first time this season — overhauled their coaching staff, brought in guard Layshia Clarendon and of course, drafted Oregon sensation Sabrina Ionescu No. 1 overall in the 2020 WNBA Draft.

The Connecticut Sun saw star guard Courtney Williams head to the Atlanta Dream in a three-team trade, while longtime Dream player Angel McCoughtry left for Las Vegas. Veterans Seimone Augustus and Kristi Toliver also left the Minnesota Lynx and Washington Mystics, respectively, to go to sunny Los Angeles.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic erased all chances of allowing fans at games, interest in ticket sales had seen a major increase — likely thanks to the free agency action and momentum the league and players had been building off last season.

Now that plans for the 2020 season are in motion, Sports Betting Dime has taken a look ahead and published its odds for this year’s championship contenders, MVP honors and more. In news that will be unsurprising to many, SBD has the Mystics with the highest odds of repeating last year’s success and winning back-to-back WNBA titles. The Aces, Sparks, Sun — who fell short in last year’s Finals — and Seattle Storm round out the rest of the top five teams. Seeing the Aces at second with 5 to 1 odds is interesting considering that they couldn’t quite figure out how to excel with both A’ja Wilson and Liz Cambage crowding up the frontcourt despite making the playoffs for the first time since and narrowly advancing to the semifinals. Additionally, guard Kelsey Plum will miss the entire season after she tore her Achilles tendon.

ODDS TO WIN THE 2020 WNBA CHAMPIONSHIP:

1. Washington Mystics: 4/1

2. Las Vegas Aces: 5/1

3. Los Angeles Sparks: 5/1

4. Connecticut Sun: 8/1

5. Seattle Storm: 10/1

6. Chicago Sky: 12/1

7. Phoenix Mercury: 17/1

8. Minnesota Lynx: 19/1

9. New York Liberty: 29/1

10. Indiana Fever: 64/1

11. Dallas Wings: 90/1

12. Atlanta Dream: 94/1

The Dream having the worst odds to win this season also seems like a stretch, especially considering that the team really boosted its offensive talent in the offseason, after signing Williams and Shekinna Stricklen from Connecticut and Kalani Brown in addition to drafting sharpshooter Chennedy Carter out of Texas A&M.

MVP ODDS:

1. Elena Delle Donne (Was): 5/1

2. Brittney Griner (Phx): 6/1

3. Jonquel Jones (Conn): 9/1

4. Breanna Stewart (Sea): 11/1

5. Nneka Ogwumike (AL): 14/1

6. Liz Cambage (LV): 15/1

7. A’ja Wilson (LV): 17/1

8. Sabrina Ionescu (NY): 19/1

9. Natasha Howard (Sea): 25/1

10. Courtney Vandersloot (Chi): 29/1

11. Sylvia Fowles (Minn): 32/1

12. FIELD: 5/1

Reigning MVP Delle Donne leads the way in this year’s race, and Breanna Stewart, coming off an Achilles injury, is at No. 4 while the Liberty rookie sits at No. 8. Reminder: the Storm still finished third in the West and made it to the second round of the playoffs without stars Stewart and Sue Bird. Defensive Player of the Year Natasha Howard and Jordin Canada really improved their stock with their performances last season and now Seattle should have Stewart and Bird back healthy — so, perhaps they find themselves being underestimated with just the fifth-highest odds to win the championship and 25-year-old Stewart behind Jones and Griner, who will be 30 in October.

The oddsmaker also posted over/under win totals for each team, reflecting the 22-game schedule. So while Washington is projected to finish with 15.5 wins, that’s slightly more than 25 wins in a 36-game season.

OVER/UNDER WIN TOTALS (22-game season)

1.      Washington Mystics: 15.5

2.      Las Vegas Aces: 13.5

3.      Los Angeles Sparks: 13.5

4.      Connecticut Sun: 13.0

5.      Seattle Storm: 12.5

6.      Chicago Sky: 12.0

7.      Phoenix Mercury: 11.5

8.      Minnesota Lynx: 11.0

9.      New York Liberty: 9.5

10.     Indiana Fever: 8.5

11.     Dallas Wings: 6.5

12.     Atlanta Dream: 6.0