The 2025 Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) has three total games on Friday night’s slate.
In the early window, we have a pair of games, as the Minnesota Lynx and Indiana Fever meet at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis at 7:30 p.m. ET. Also at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Seattle Storm and Dallas Wings go head-to-head. In the late window, the Phoenix Mercury hosts the Golden State Valkyries at 10:00 p.m. ET. All three games are available for viewing or streaming on ION.
We’ll take a deep dive into Friday’s three contests. Let’s build our bankroll with our best WNBA picks and bets for Friday, August 22nd’s game Valkyries vs. Mercury.
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Friday’s Best WNBA Picks & Bets: Valkyries vs. Mercury
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit
Golden State Valkyries (+172) at Phoenix Mercury (-215) | O/U 154.5 (-110/-110)
The Valkyries (18-17) are right in the mix for a postseason spot in their expansion season, while the Mercury (21-13) play for the second time in two days.
Phoenix was blown out in Las Vegas on Thursday night, falling 83-61, so like Minnesota above, it will be playing in a back-to-back situation. At least Phoenix will be at home. So far this season, Phoenix is 2-0 SU/ATS while cashing the over at a 1-0-1 clip in two games on no rest.
These teams just met in San Francisco on Tuesday night, with the Mercury coming away with a 98-91 victory as 7-point favorites, pushing at most shops. The over (155) easily cashed in that game, too.
In Tuesday’s game, Golden State shot just 41.6% (32-of-77) from the field and 34.3% (12-of-35) from behind the arc. It was also a solid 88.2% (15-of-17) from the free-throw line. However, Phoenix was 49.3% (34-of-69) from the field, 35.5% (11-of-31) from behind the three-point line, which was just a little better, while missing just four times in 23 tries from the free-throw line (82.6%). The big difference was a +11 rebound margin for Phoenix, although Golden State was +7 in the turnover department thanks to nine steals.
Golden State is a top-notch defensive team, ranking No. 1 in defensive field-goal rate (40.8%), while ranking second in points per game allowed (79.7). It is third in the league with a 31.9% three-point rate allowed.
Phoenix has won all three meetings this season, while going 2-0-1 ATS. The over is 2-1 in those meetings, too, including an 86-77 victory as a 6-point favorite with the over cashing (157) in the only previous meeting at PHX Arena.
Let’s back the Mercury to bounce back from Thursday’s beatdown, while going with the over based on the series trends. Phoenix will likely be eager to get on track after an ugly showing in Vegas, too.
Picks: Mercury -4.5 (-112) & Over 154.5 Points (-110)
Joe Williams is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Joe, check out his archive and follow him @winwithjoe.