WNBA First Basket Scorers & Picks: Monday (8/24)
After a busy weekend in the WNBA, it is not shocking to see only two games on the schedule tonight. There are quite a few betting markets that we can talk about, but I want to talk about just one: WNBA first basket scorers. Below are my top picks for each game.
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Monday’s Best WNBA First Basket Scorers & Bets
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Follow along and make sure to check out our WNBA First Basket Prop Bet Cheat Sheet for help identifying all of today's best prop bets.
Golden State Valkyries vs. Minnesota Lynx
As good as Minnesota has been the entire season, making the first basket in a game is not something they've done well this season (11 times in 38 games). From a betting perspective, it makes it hard to rationalize betting on a Lynx player to record the first basket in a game. Tonight, they are playing one of the best defenses in the league, so it is probably not worth putting anything down on a Minnesota player.
However, when teams have scored the first basket against Golden State, it has often been a layup. If you really want to bet on Minnesota, I'd suggest betting on star guard Olivia Miles.
But you'd be better off betting on someone from Golden State, even though the Valkyries have not recorded the first basket in the last four games. The last person to do so was Cecilia Zandalasini on August 9 versus the Sparks. It was her ninth first basket of the season. She had made the first basket in two out of three games against Minnesota this season.
Zandalasini is clearly the best bet.
Picks: Cecilia Zandalasini (+500)/Olivia Miles (+650)
Atlanta Dream vs. Los Angeles Sparks
Neither team is a clear-cut favorite to score first, with team one scoring the first basket in 17 games this season and the other in 16. In the two previous games between them, each team recorded the first basket once - Atlanta: Rhyne Howard; Los Angeles: Dearica Hamby. In their most recent matchup on August 20th, it was Hamby.
If you want to bet on someone from Atlanta, bet on Howard. She has made the most first baskets for her team with six. Over half of the first baskets made against Golden State have been three-pointers. As the player who attempts and makes the most three-pointers for the Dream, Howard is the best bet if you want to back someone from Atlanta.
As for the Sparks, Hamby has had the most recent success, scoring two first baskets in the last 10 games, with her most recent coming against Atlanta a few days ago. But I feel like I need to include Nneka Ogwumike as well, since she leads the team with eight first baskets. Teams have had slightly greater success making the first shot against Atlanta from three-point range than layups and two-pointers, but not by much. What does this tell us? Either of those Sparks players is a good bet. But I'd go with Hamby because she has had more recent success.
I'd lean towards Howard from Atlanta over anyone from L.A. just because the Dream are playing better basketball right now.
Picks: Rhyne Howard (+450)/Rae Burrell (+1000)/Dearica Hamby (+650)/Nneka Ogwumike (+600)