The WNBA playoffs are right around the corner, which means the spotlight on the league is growing. It also means it’s a great time to enter the growing betting landscape.

After all, what better way to — in the words of Nneka Ogwumike — “bet on women” than to literally bet on women?

The first step is to learn to read the odds and lines (or what odds and lines even are!). All the numbers, pluses and minuses can make your head spin, and for a rookie bettor, staring at them can feel like a rookie player staring at their new team’s playbook.

That’s where this primer comes in. If you’re new to the party and looking for the 101 course, we’ve got you covered. And if you’re not sure whether WNBA betting is for you, we’ve got you covered there, too.

Making sense of the numbers

There are three common types of bets you can place on a WNBA game. These aren’t the only available options, but if you’re new to betting, then they’re probably the only ones you need to care about.

When you click on a game on an online sportsbook’s website, the first thing you’ll see are the lines and odds for each of these three options — spread, total and moneyline. We’ll get to what those mean in a minute, but here’s an example from PointsBet Sportsbook for the game between Phoenix and Atlanta on Sept. 8.

Moneyline

In basketball, moneylines are the least common of the three — they are much more common in lower-scoring sports such as soccer or hockey — but they are also the most important to understand first. That’s because the way the odds work for moneylines also applies to almost all other types of bets.

The odds are just those pluses and minus you see in a sportsbook. In our example game, the Mercury had odds of -221 while the Dream’s odds were +175. While the numbers themselves may seem complicated at first, the concept of moneyline bets is simple: Who will win the game?

A minus number means that you have to bet that amount to win $100. A $221 bet on Phoenix to win the game would earn you $100 if the Mercury win. (Some books will tell you that the bet “returns” $321, which just means you get your original $221 back plus the $100 you won.)

Plus odds work the opposite way — you have to bet $100 to win that amount. If the Dream were to win, a $100 bet on them would win $175 (or return $275 including the original bet).

These odds work proportionally, so you don’t need to bet that exact amount. Instead of betting $100 on Atlanta to win $175, for example, you can bet $1 to win $1.75 or $1,000 to win $1,750.

Spread

Against the spread (ATS) bets are the most common form of basketball betting. These are bets on a certain team to win after a handicap is applied to their point total.

Sportsbooks will determine the amount by which the better team is favored, and you can then bet on that team to win either by more than that many points or fewer than that many (including to lose).

PointsBet favored the Mercury by 4.5 points in the Sept. 8 game, meaning Phoenix would have to win by five or more for that bet to win. An ATS bet on the Dream would win if Atlanta wins or if Atlanta loses by four or fewer points.

Put another way, if you subtract 4.5 points from Phoenix’s score (or add it to Atlanta’s) at the end of the game, then who won? That’s why that number — known as the spread or the line — is given a minus sign for the favorite and a plus sign for the underdog.

Sportsbooks generally try to set these lines at a mark where they believe each side has a 50 percent chance of winning, so unlike with moneylines, the odds are typically the same for both sides. Some sportsbooks deviate slightly from this norm, but the standard is -110. That number works the same way as the moneyline odds: Bet $110 to win $100.

Total

The third common type of basketball bet is a totals (or over/under) bet. This is a bet on the total number of points scored between the two teams, so if you want to bet on buckets or bricks, this is where you’ll make your hay.

In our game, if the teams combine for 155 or more points, the over wins. If not, the under cashes out. The odds work the same way as before and, like with spreads, they are usually around -110 on each side.

The other important thing to know when it comes to totals and spread bets is what a “push” is. You’ll notice that in the Mercury versus Fever game, the spread and the over/under are each set at a half-point mark, so it would be impossible to hit the exact line. But that’s not always the case.

Sometimes those lines are set at whole numbers. Let’s say the spread was instead Phoenix -5. If the Mercury won by exactly five, that would be a push, which means you would get your money back but wouldn’t win anything extra. Whole number totals work the same way.

Why bet on the WNBA?

Betting isn’t for everyone. It’s a personal financial decision that you should never feel pressured into trying.

If you approach it responsibly, however, there are pros to betting on the WNBA that can outweigh the cons (even beyond the obvious opportunity to grow your bank account).

Growing the game

Pretty much everything you do to get involved with the WNBA will help the league grow, from attending games or buying gear to interacting with WNBA-related social media posts.

Betting is just another one on that long list. Sports betting in general is already a booming industry, and it continues to grow rapidly as more and more states legalize it. The higher the share of the money and the wagers that get placed on women’s sports, the more they’ll become part of that equation.

Even if you don’t want to risk your own money, which is certainly understandable, engaging in discussions about the betting markets can still have an impact. Plenty of people make their “against their spread” picks online but don’t actually put money on the pick.

However you wish to participate in the league, participate in the league. It will only move things forward.

Taking advantage of the sportsbooks

Sportsbooks make money when they are smarter than you (read: when they pay more attention than you do). Sports like the NFL or the NBA see such unfathomable sums of money wagered that the books have to devote as many resources as possible to making sure their lines are as accurate as possible. If they aren’t, the books stand to lose millions, if not billions.

That isn’t true to nearly the same extent in the WNBA. As a result, sportsbooks often neglect the league to the point where their lines and odds are inefficient and exploitable.

For instance, the Lynx entered the season on most books with the eighth-best odds to win the championship. For a top-four team a year ago that returned nearly everyone and added multiple key free agents, it didn’t make a whole lot of sense.

A more relevant example for those who are planning on betting on single games using the three options listed above is injury updates. In the NBA or the NFL, if a key player’s status changes, the lines and odds on their game change almost instantaneously. A team who is favored by 13 and then has its star player ruled out will be favored by 10 or 11 before you have time to bet on the spread of 13.

In the WNBA, it can take hours for sportsbooks to account for injury updates. Players as impactful as Sylvia Fowles, Brittney Griner, and Candace Parker have all had updates to their status at some point this year without the spread of their game changing for a good chunk of the day. This leaves you with a window to bet on their team if they are declared healthy or to bet on their opponent if they are ruled out.

This opportunity, while profitable, ideally isn’t around for too many more years. If sportsbooks pay more attention to the WNBA and we lose out on chances to make money, that’s a substantial net positive. But as long as those advantages linger, we might as well cash in on them.

Calvin Wetzel is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports, covering basketball and betting. He also contributes to Her Hoop Stats and Bet Her. Follow him on Twitter at @cwetzel31.

In this week's episode of The Late Sub, host Claire Watkins examines the individual standouts of the first third of the 2025 NWSL season, offering her early shortlist of players making strong cases in the league's MVP race.

As defenses continue to find their stride, league scoring is paving the way in the 2025 season so far, leading Watkins to put forth four top attackers, calling them "the most established, the most consistent" MVP candidates.

First, Watkins digs into Kansas City's Debinha, who sits second in the NWSL Golden Boot race with five goals and an assist through eight 2025 matches.

A two-time league champion and three-time Shield-winner with her previous club, the North Carolina Courage, Debinha already owns the 2019 MVP title in addition to two Challenge Cup MVP trophies.

Calling her "the big glitzy comeback story on what is right now the best team in the league," Watkins notes that Debinha is "a killer playmaker [with] a talent for exploiting space [and] finishing her own chances, while also making her teammates better."

Joining Debinha as an early MVP frontrunner is Gotham FC's Esther. With seven goals in nine games, the 2023 NWSL champ and 2023 World Cup winner tops the 2025 Golden Boot leaderboard thanks to her ability "to score with her head and with her feet."

"Where Esther goes, so goes Gotham," says Watkins. "They haven't won a single game this season in which she did not score. That's team impact."

Top 2024 candidates keep pace with 2025 frontrunners

Last year's leaders round out Watkins' MVP favorites, including "a player that gets better when the job gets harder," Orlando's Barbra Banda.

"[Teams are] doing a better job of putting a lot of bodies on Banda to try to slow her down," causing her scoring to take a hit, but Watkins argues that Banda is still "one of the best out-and-out strikers of the ball in the entire league."

Finally, though "there's never been a back-to-back MVP in league history," Watkins says that reigning NWSL MVP and Golden Boot winner Temwa Chawinga is making a major case for running it back, led by the Kansas City star's "superpower of opening space where there is none."

Thompson's rise make the ACFC forward an MVP dark horse

Finally, Watkins gives Angel City's Alyssa Thompson a unique nod, calling her the league's most improved player — an award that does not exist in the NWSL.

Remarking on Thompson's growth, Watkins points out the 20-year-old forward's leaps in consistency, poise, and her response to coaching at both the club and USWNT level.

"Her glimpses of brilliance are turning into something more consistent," describes Watkins. "She's fast.... She's a really good dribbler. She can take players on 1v1 and make them look silly, get in behind on goal, shoot, score. But she has widened her ability to connect with teammates.... She's just become a well-rounded winger in a way that we were not seeing before."

With four goals on the season, Thompson currently sits tied for fourth place in the 2025 Golden Boot race with the likes of Banda, Chawinga, Washington's Ashley Hatch, and Louisville's Emma Sears.

"Is [Thompson] in that space to to kind of overtake these really well established, consistent, dominant players [in the MVP race]?" wonders Watkins. "Maybe not. But the fact that she has made this leap to this stature in the league is huge."

About 'The Late Sub' with Claire Watkins

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes on the USWNT, NWSL, and all things women's soccer. Special guest appearances featuring the biggest names in women’s sports make TLS a must-listen for every soccer fan.

Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women's Sports newsletter for more.

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Angel City forward Alyssa Thompson has been a goal-scoring machine this season, leading the charge for a young team fighting its way up the NWSL table. But in May 2nd's end-to-end battle with 2024 NWSL runners-up Washington, the 20-year-old winger's most important play was a pass.

The California club had gotten off to a fast start in DC, scoring early as they worked their way into the match. The team was coming off a late-game collapse against 2024 champions Orlando the week prior. They hope to ward off another loss by generating as much offense as possible.

In the 22nd minute, Thompson, the ball at her feet, saw her teammate — and sister — right-back Gisele Thompson move out of ACFC's defensive end and dart into the Spirit's penalty area. Alyssa quickly served her sister the ball on a platter. The 19-year-old defender netted her first-ever NWSL goal a split-second later.

"My heart was pounding so hard," Alyssa told Just Women's Sports a few days after the match. "I was so excited for her."

"I always thought it was going to be me that scored, and she assisted me," she continued, given their respective positions. But Gisele's special moment also underlines Thompson's growth as a player. She's matured into a legitimate MVP candidate, while fifth-place ACFC enters the title conversation for the first time in franchise history.

Thompson on coping with USWNT growing pains

Thompson didn't give up on her Olympic dream for weeks after USWNT head coach Emma Hayes released her roster for the 2024 Summer Games. After all, she'd already featured in the 2023 World Cup at the age of 18, going on to receive regular call-ups through the rest of that year. 

But even as her name slipped off the USWNT roster in 2024, Thompson remained hopeful for a surprise selection. It wasn't until the team landed in Europe that the then-19-year-old began the process of accepting whatever came next.

"I think that helped me a lot, just letting go of that sadness I felt, knowing that I wasn't playing how I wanted to play," she said.

"During that time, I learned how to be a better professional, and took what we were doing more seriously," Thompson continued. She doubled up on training sessions, and spent extra time in the film room, laser-focused on her next opportunity to audition for US consideration.

All that work resulted in a newfound confidence, one that's fueled an attacking explosion continuing well into this season. Thompson scored five goals in the 2024 NWSL regular season after the Olympic break. It put her in prime position as the US set off down the long road to the 2027 World Cup.

Rising up the ranks — for both club and country

The USWNT eventually came calling once again. Hayes invited Thompson to rejoin the team for a series of friendlies in October 2024. And while she took full advantage of that chance — scoring her first senior national team goal against Iceland — it was her club career that really benefited from the long-awaited return.

These days, Thompson is considered one of the best wingers in the NWSL. Dribbling past defenders with ease, she connects with teammates as well as she shoots. She slots home strikes with a remarkable sense of calm. She's registered four goals and two assists over eight matches for Angel City this season. And she's shown a veteran savvyness far beyond her years.

"In the first three games, Alyssa's been the best player in the league," Angel City sporting director Mark Parsons told ESPN in early April.

USWNT manager Hayes echoed Parsons's sentiment. "The development in the last six months for her, I've been talking about it a lot this week," she said of Thompson's improvement last month. "You can really see how much she's closed that gap."

Thompson finds her footing in the NWSL

Selected No. 1 overall in the 2023 NWSL Draft at the age of 18, Thompson remembers having no idea what to expect in her rookie year. And, subsequently, having to build up the nerve to even ask for help.

"I thought it was like [high school] club," she said. "You come to training, you practice, and you leave, and then that's it. But being a professional is so much more than that. Taking care of your body, doing extras, looking at film, just putting in the extra work knowing that you want to get better."

A self-described introvert, Thompson didn't always know how to speak up. But that didn't stop her Angel City teammates from seeing her potential. She remembers NWSL mainstays like Ali Riley taking the time to talk to her, coaching her through becoming a professional athlete while simultaneously finishing her senior year of high school.

"It was really helpful having those people on the team knowing me and knowing that I did want the help," she says. "I just didn't know how to really ask — it was outside of my comfort zone to do that."

And it didn't stop there. When Thompson finally let go of playing in the 2024 Olympics, she turned to her teammate and locker buddy Christen Press, a two-time World Cup champion and USWNT legend in her own right. 

Over the season, Press talked Thompson through striking the ball, positioning herself in front of goal, choosing where to shoot, and other mechanics. But she also helped Thompson regain her confidence after the professional setback. She reminded the young forward over and over again of her ability to become a world-class player, and promising that she'd get another shot.

"I've always looked up to her," Thompson said of Press. "As an older sister, I feel like I crave some advice. Because I feel like I've always done everything first for my sisters. It's just been really nice getting to know her as a person. And I feel like I've just learned so much from her."

"Knowing that she was [saying], 'You can score. I believe in you,' really gave me a lot of confidence," she continued. "Like, 'Yeah, I can. If you believe in me, what can I not do?"

The sisterly bond driving Angel City

Despite still being just 20 years old, Thompson has transitioned to imparting wisdom onto her even-younger teammates. Of course, that includes her little sister Gisele, who signed with Angel City ahead of the 2024 NWSL season.

"I love playing with Alyssa," Gisele told JWS in January. "She makes me so comfortable in any situation, no matter where we're at. Having her by myself on the field and off the field, it makes me a better player and a better person."

Far from stoking sibling rivalry, the Thompson sisters are more than happy to share the field. In fact, the Los Angeles natives shared everything growing up, including a room. And according to Alyssa, their close upbringing makes working together easier. 

"We talk about things that annoy us. And then we talk about things that make us happy. And then we're bickering, and then it's fine, and then we go to eat," she said. "It's just how sisters are."

The pair currently live together in an apartment in LA. And they lean on each other for advice about soccer and more — even if things occasionally get heated.

"We're so competitive, we don't want to lose against each other," Gisele laughed. "It's really hard going against each other [in training]. But we love it."

The sisterly connection appears to be paying off. When Alyssa set Gisele up for that goal against the Spirit, the Thompsons became the first sister duo to combine for a goal in NWSL history.

Looking toward the future, together

Thompson's aims for the rest of the year are simple: score goals, win games, make the playoffs, and take Angel City on their deepest postseason run yet. And if she can accomplish all of that with her sister by her side, it'll be even sweeter.

"I definitely feel more a part of the team as the years go on," she said. "It feels really nice to see people that were in my shoes once, and treat them how the veterans treated me when I came in."

"My teammates really believe in me, and that belief drives me to want to be a better player."

Big-name roster cuts dominated the WNBA headlines on Wednesday, with teams scrambling to meet the league's size and salary cap requirements before Friday's 2025 season tip-off.

The Golden State Valkyries, Minnesota Lynx, Atlanta Dream, Washington Mystics, and Dallas Wings announced finalized rosters, leaving a handful of teams still weighing their options as the clock ticks down.

Expansion side Golden State caused the most Wednesday commotion, dropping 2025 WNBA Draft Cinderella story Kaitlyn Chen (UConn) and 2023 No. 8 overall draft pick Laeticia Amihere (South Carolina), among other cuts, after initially waiving this year's No. 17 overall pick Shyanne Sellers (Maryland) last week.

With this year's No. 5 overall pick Justė Jocytė (Lithuania) choosing to remain overseas for this summer's EuroBasket, the Valkyries will now make their WNBA debut without a single 2025 draftee.

The South Carolina alum scored 20 points in her preseason debut for the Valkyries and was selected 8th overall by the Dream in the 2023 Draft. pic.twitter.com/JNQVpP1twS

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) May 14, 2025

2023 WNBA Draft Class takes a hit

The hits kept coming for the 2023 WNBA Draft class, as Atlanta's No. 6 overall pick Haley Jones (Stanford) and Minnesota's No. 7 selectee Grace Berger (Indiana) joined Amihere on the league's cutting room floor on Wednesday — leaving only five 2023 first-rounders currently on WNBA rosters.

On the flip side, the Connecticut Sun dropped 30-year-old guard Diamond DeShields on Thursday morning — just three months after signing the 2021 WNBA champion.

Ultimately, rookies, mid-career players, and veterans alike are on the chopping block this week, with teams showing little mercy for fan favorites as they hone in on what promises to be a highly competitive 2025 WNBA season.

The NWSL Players Association (NWSLPA) is advocating for an immediate change in protocol in the name of player safety, with the union voicing concerns about the handling of Angel City defender Savy King's mid-match medical event last Friday.

Following current league guidelines, the game between the LA club and the Utah Royals resumed play on Friday, picking up where they left off after King's on-pitch collapse required nearly 10 minutes of life-saving intervention from medical staff.

Amid a crowd of visibly distressed players and coaches, paramedics rushed King to an area hospital, with the 20-year-old later undergoing successful surgery to fix a previously undetected heart abnormality.

"These moments demand humanity, sound judgment, and restraint," the NWSLPA posted on Wednesday. "Any medical emergency that requires the administration of life-saving care should bring play to an end. The match should not have continued."

"Our members are elite, world-class competitors who have proven they can perform under unimaginable conditions. That does not mean they should have to," the statement continued.

"Incidents of this severity must prioritize our collective humanity and should automatically trigger suspension of the match. The Players Association is committed to making this the standard in [the] NWSL."

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NWSL player safety again takes center-pitch

As the NWSL braces for rapid expansion, the NWSLPA remains laser-focused on ensuring player safety never takes a backseat, both on and off the field.

That priority was mirrored in the league's own Wednesday post.

Shortly before the NWSLPA's statement hit feeds, the NWSL issued its own statement, saying "Player Safety is paramount to the NWSL. The seriousness of this incident requires a deliberate process that is careful and methodical. That process is underway and will include necessary revisions that prioritize the consideration of player, staff, and fan well-being."

The lack of an instant protocol change doesn't sit well with NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke.

After reviewing the league's post, Burke told Front Office Sports "The reality is these decisions are made in real time. A decision needed to be made last Friday night.... Five days later, they still [haven't] decided whether or not this game should have been suspended." 

"This is a human issue. The right thing to do was to call this game. It doesn't take this long to realize that."