WNBA 2024 Championship Odds: Aces Favored to Make It a Three-Peat
The 2023 WNBA season has come to an end, and the Las Vegas Aces have taken home yet another Finals trophy.
Though the offseason is hardly upon us and uncertainties loom with how teams will shape up next year, it's never too early to start analyzing potential championship candidates for the 2024 season.
Here's a look at the next year's WNBA Championship odds, per the WNBA odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.
Team | Title Odds |
---|---|
Las Vegas Aces | +120 |
New York Liberty | +240 |
Connecticut Sun | +1000 |
Dallas Wings | +1000 |
Washington Mystics | +1900 |
Indiana Fever | +2900 |
Minnesota Lynx | +2900 |
WNBA Championship Odds
Las Vegas Aces (+120)
Nothing stopped the Aces from successfully completing their two-peat this year. Will they be able to follow up on it next season?
Though anything is possible in the offseason, Las Vegas should be returning with a majority of their core players next year, including Finals MVP A'ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, and Chelsea Gray.
Kiah Stokes and Candace Parker will become free agents, and while their status is up in the air, uncertainty is nothing new for Las Vegas. During the middle of the regular season, Parker went down with a foot injury and was ruled out for the rest of the year. Although the Aces lost their veteran star, they still managed to go 12-1 in the final 13 games of the season.
Stokes filled in the starting role left behind by Parker but suffered an injury and was ruled out for Game 4 of the Finals. The Aces' bad injury luck didn't stop there -- starting guard Chelsea Gray also suffered a foot injury and could not compete in Game 4 of the Finals. It speaks volumes about the depth of this team that they were able to take home the trophy despite being riddled with injuries.
There are few worlds in which the Aces aren't a major competitor during next season's playoffs. Perhaps they can be dethroned, but I at least expect them to be in the mix, competing to be the second team in WNBA history to complete a three-peat.
New York Liberty (+240)
The Liberty may have fallen hard in the Finals against a mature Aces squad, but they should come back swinging next year.
One could argue New York boasts better star players than Las Vegas does -- Breanna Stewart won her second MVP this season, Jonquel Jones won MVP back in 2021, and Sabrina Ionescu has more than cashed in on her number-one pick status.
Stewart had a tough go of it in the playoffs, shooting only 35.8% from the field as opposed to her 46.5% clip from the regular season. The same goes for Ionescu, who shot 39.3% from the field in the playoffs compared to 42.3% during the regular season.
The Liberty went 3-2 against the Aces in the regular season, and while it's probably safe to say the Aces were simply the better team in the Finals, New York was a victim of their own underperformance in the playoffs.
Given that we saw a new-look Liberty team this season, I don't think they've hit their peak yet -- especially in contrast to Vegas, who plays like a team that has been assembled for quite some time.
Another year of trials and tribulations should lead a more gelled Liberty team back to the Finals next season, and perhaps they could be perfectly primed to win their first championship in franchise history.
The Field
No team besides the Aces and Liberty has shorter odds than +1000 to win the 2024 title, meaning we very well could see a rematch of this year's exciting Finals.
The Connecticut Sun boasts the next shortest championship odds at +1000, but some of their best players, including DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones, will enter free agency this offseason, so it's hard to say what the Sun will look like in 2024. With that said, the Sun put up a decent fight against the Liberty in this year's playoffs, so I wouldn't rule them out from contention quite yet.
For now, the Dallas Wings are likely the only other realistic championship option. Their odds currently stand at +1000 and they were the only other team besides the aforementioned three squads that posted a winning record last season.
Arike Ogunbowale is still a star on the rise, while two top-10 picks in the 2024 WNBA draft could give the Wings a further boost.
Speaking of the draft, this is likely the main thing that will shake up championship odds, at least as far as the underdog teams are concerned.
College stars such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers are all eligible for the upcoming draft and could give teams the boost they need to compete. However, it's yet to be determined whether these players will forego their remaining college eligibility. So, until then, I'd keep championship sights realistic and target either the Aces and the Liberty as favorites, or give the Sun or Wings a shake as the safest of the underdog options.
Looking for more WNBA betting opportunities? Check out the WNBA odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.
The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.