The WNBA Class of 2025 is already making its mark on the league, with first-year players stepping up and showing out while the Rookie of the Year race — and betting odds — heat up.
No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers has been just as good as advertised, with the Dallas Wings guard leading her class in both minutes played and points per game while also charting league-wide in assists per game, steals per game, and mid-range shots made.
DraftKings currently has Bueckers as the clear WNBA Rookie of the Year race frontrunner at -1,000, though the dynamic DC duo of guard Sonia Citron (+1,500) and forward Kiki Iriafen (+1,000) are quickly gaining traction.
Iriafen won May's WNBA Rookie of the Month award after a series of career-opening double-doubles, while her Washington Mystics teammate Citron has continued to execute in the clutch — most recently posting a career-high double-double performance of 27 points and 11 rebounds in last Sunday's 91-88 overtime win over Dallas.
"Not only is [Iriafen] holding her own, she's excelling," Citron told JWS earlier this month. "And seeing that is just incredible."
"Soni just does all the little things," Iriafen added. "She doesn't shortcut anything, she's doing the fundamentals, she doesn't cheat the game at all."
With the 2025 WNBA season around the corner, sportsbooks have already been setting the field for this year's MVP race, with odds heavily slanted toward three early frontrunners.
Last season's Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark leads the 2025 race, with FanDuel currently placing the Indiana Fever guard at +200, followed closely by Las Vegas's three-time league MVP A'ja Wilson (+230), and Minnesota's 2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier (+300).
DraftKings rates Clark similarly at +220, putting Wilson at +225 and Collier at +400.
After a blockbuster rookie season, opinions on Clark's sophomore ceiling vary, with ESPN ranking the 23-year-old as the WNBA's overall fourth-best player entering the 2025 season, trailing just Wilson, Collier, and New York's 2023 MVP and 2024 champion Breanna Stewart.
However, the media giant's own ESPN BET has Clark leading the MVP odds at +200, a likely response to bettor interest rather than analyst predictions.
Dallas's 2025 No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers is the clear favorite for this season's Rookie of the Year award, carrying -255 odds on ESPN BET despite not making the overall preseason Top 25.
There's no such thing as a sure bet, but the market is clearly mirroring fan interest, hyping up these young players before a single team takes the 2025 season's court.