WNBA MVP Futures: Best Odds and Picks – June 2023

WNBA MVP FUTURES BEST ODDS AND PICKS, JUNE 2023 — The WNBA season is in full swing, and that means now is as good a time as any to start discussing the players with the best odds to win some of the league’s annual awards.

Today, we will look at the frontrunners for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.

Las Vegas Aces forward A’Ja Wilson has won the league MVP award in two of the past three seasons (2020 and 2022). Is she the odds-on favorite to win it again? Let’s find out.

Odds courtesy of DraftKings as of June 10, 2023

 Elena Delle Donne (+650)

The Washington Mystics forward is no stranger to being the league’s top player, as she took home the award in 2019. During that campaign, she averaged 19.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per contest.

Delle Donne has additionally compiled averages of 18.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per contest this season. Encouragingly for the deadly Delawarean, those numbers are also comparable to her MVP season in 2019.

What makes Delle Donne a difficult cover is the efficiency with which she scores. She is shooting 50 percent from the field and a very efficient 52.6 percent from beyond the arc.

Elena Delle Donne – Featured Game

Her best game of the season took place in a losing effort against the Connecticut Sun on May 23:

Delle Donne’s tally of 27 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in that contest might just be the big show she needs to swing the odds her way in the WNBA MVP futures market.

Yet, despite those solid numbers, the Mystics are just one game above .500 (4-3) on the season. And they haven’t been invincible by any means, with a loss to Minnesota Lynx earlier in June. In turn, that saw their strong return against teams with a losing record take a hit.

For that reason, it will be interesting to see if Delle Donne can continue to elevate her team as the campaign progresses.

A’Ja Wilson (+450)

As previously mentioned, Wilson has won the MVP award in two of the last three years. And she is unquestionably in the process of putting together yet another solid season.

For the third time already in her six-year career, Wilson is averaging 20 points per contest to go along with 8.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.8 steals, and 2.4 blocks. Both the steals and blocks are career-highs.

A’Ja Wilson – Featured Game

Wilson was ice personified when she brought down the Indiana Fever on June 4 with a blistering performance:

She finished with an impressive stat line that included 27 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and four blocks. Geez… talk about a player who can do a bit of everything!

We often talk about the importance of star players being able to be effective at both ends of the floor, and Wilson certainly fits mode, having done so much to help the Aces post seven wins in their first eight contests.

Breanna Stewart (+150 and current WNBA MVP futures favorite)

The Indiana Fever were also on the receiving end of a red-hot performance from another contender for the MVP crown on May 21. The chief architect of their destruction was no less than the current overall MVP award frontrunner Breanna Stewart.

As is the case with the other players on this short list, Stewart is also a former WNBA MVP (2018), who is exceeding all expectations in her first term with the New York Liberty, after spending the first six seasons of her career with the Seattle Storm and guiding them to two league titles.

Coming off a campaign in which she produced averages of 21.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per contest, Stewart’s status as the favorite seems like it will stand the test of time.

As for this season, the first six games have seen Stewart average 23.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.2 steals, and 1.7 blocks per contest. Perhaps most importantly, she is on pace to increase her scoring output for the fourth consecutive season.

Breanna Stewart – Featured Game

Stewart is also posting career-highs in points, rebounds, steals, and blocks. Meanwhile, a closer look at that outstanding performance against Indiana Fever shows exactly why she has such a short price.

In one of her finest performances yet, Stewart dropped 45 points, pulled down 12 rebounds, and handed out three assists. She also shot a ridiculous 15-for-21 from the field (71.4 percent), converted six of her nine attempts from distance, and shot a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe.

As if that wasn’t enough, Stewart was also named the KIA WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for May. She averaged 25.8 points, 10.3 rebounds 3.0 assists, and 2.8 steals. She also did this while shooting 54.1 percent from the floor and 43.5 percent from 3-point range. This helped the Liberty jump out to a 3-1 start.

At this rate, Stewart will be the dominant name in this conversation for the rest of the season. Already, she looks like a worthy WNBA MVP futures favorite.