The Golden State Valkyries will face the Sparks in Los Angeles tonight. L.A. has scored the first basket in three of its five home games this season. Does that mean we should focus on WNBA first basket props featuring Sparks players?
Not necessarily.. Golden State has had a knack for making the first basket in games this season, and made the first basket in both prior games against the Sparks.
Will they do it again tonight? Let's examine tonight’s WNBA first basket props market.
Monday’s Best WNBA First Basket Scorers & Bets
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Golden State Valkyries at Los Angeles Sparks
Kayla Thornton made the first basket for the Valkyries for the second time this season in the team’s win over the Las Vegas Aces. Her first was against the Los Angeles Sparks in the season opener. In the second game against the Sparks, Janelle Salaun made the first basket when she hit a three-pointer barely 10 seconds into the game. It was the second game in a row where she made the first basket.
Veronica Burton recorded the first of the game against Phoenix on June 5th.
In the three games where Golden State did not make the first basket of the game, Thornton scored the team's first bucket in all three.
Los Angeles did not make the first basket in either game against Golden State, but did in four other games, including three at home. Odyssey Sims is the only player to have done it twice for the Sparks, once at home and once on the road. Azura Stevens and Dearica Hamby have each done it once.
In Los Angeles’ other five games, Hamby scored the first basket for the Sparks in four of them; Azura Stevens made the team's first basket in the other game, which was one of the games versus Golden State (Hamby recorded the team's first basket in the other game against the Valkyries).
The best option for either team is pretty clear. For Golden State, Thornton is the best choice. She has made the first basket in a game twice and the first basket for the team three times. As for Los Angeles, it has to be Hamby. Yes, Sims has made the first basket in a game twice, and Hamby just once, but Hamby gets extra credit here for making the team's first basket in four games.
A lot of signs were pointing to Hamby, but there was one thing that swayed me in Thornton's direction over Hamby: Golden State made the first basket in both prior games versus Los Angeles.
Pick: Kayla Thornton (+550)
