2023 WNBA championship odds: Liberty holding strong after WNBA Draft

With the WNBA Draft now behind us, all eyes are trained on the upcoming 2023 season.

After the New York Liberty’s big offseason, they were quiet for much of DRaft night, not selecting until the third round where they picked USC guard/forward Okako Adika, who averaged 9.9 points and 5.1 rebounds this past season.

The first round was clearly highlighted by the Indiana Fever selecting South Carolina forward Aliyah Boston, but her teammates joined her in stealing the night as five Gamecocks were drafted on Monday night. It marked the end of a magical run for that particular recruiting class that went 129-9 at South Carolina.

UCONN forward Lou Lopez Sénéchal was also a great story from Monday night as the guard/forward capped off a non-traditional amateur career that saw her live in Mexico, France, and Ireland and then play four years at Fairfield before transferring to UCONN and now being a top-five pick.

Now that the draft is behind us, let’s dive in with the updated 2023 WNBA title odds, courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook, and our best bets.

WNBA Championship Odds

Team	Current Odds
Las Vegas Aces	+130
New York Liberty	+150
Phoenix Mercury	+1600
Washington Mystics	+1600
Connecticut Sun	+2500
Seattle Storm, Dallas Wings, and Chicago Skyy	+3000

Favorites

As you can tell from the odds above, the sportsbooks really believe this is a two-team race between the Aces and Liberty, and it’s hard to argue otherwise.

The Aces (+130) are rightful favorites after winning the 2022 title easily with a 3-1 over the Connecticut Sun. They also started their offseason with the addition of Candace Parker, who will now join potential MVP Kelsey Plum and actual MVP A’ja Wilson. Chelsea Gray also had a tremendous playoff run and won Finals MVP, which means this is a team full of talented players who have already been to the top.

However, they will be challenged by a completely re-made Liberty squad. Sabrina Ionescu was already guiding the Liberty back into the national conversation, but the team sped up the rebuilding process by adding 2021 MVP Jonquel Jones in a trade and then signing 2018 MVP Breanna Stewart just days later.

After acquiring Jones from the Sun, the Liberty had the second-best odds (+440) to win the 2023 WNBA title. Once they added Stewart, their odds jumped to +150. Surprisingly, the Liberty also inked future Hall of Famer Courtney Vandersloot in free agency but that didn’t move the needle with Vegas, which could prove to be a buying opportunity for bettors.

With the Liberty now having their own Big 3 (or 4), the WNBA has potentially emerged into a super-team era where not many other teams are expected to rival the Liberty and Aces.

Longshot Bet

If you’re hoping to bets against one of the two clear favorites then your best choice might be the Phoenix Mercury (+1600), who have actually seen their odds improve from +2500 just a few weeks ago.

The 2022 season was mired in off-court controversy for the Mercury as their star, Brittney Griner, was detained in Russia for the duration of the season. She will return in 2023 to bolster a defense that desperately needed her and with talented veterans Diana Taurasi, Skylar Diggins-Smith, and Sophie Cunningham also on the roster, this is one team that will certainly not back down from the challenge to take down the Liberty and Aces.