There are three WNBA games tonight, all of which will be played at 10:00 p.m. ET. Below, I take a look at the viable options to score first in all three contests. The Los Angeles Sparks and Las Vegas Aces and the Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm meet in rematches from earlier in the year. For the third game of the night, I look at trends for the Dallas Wings and Phoenix Mercury ahead of what is expected to be a lopsided game. Here are the best WNBA first basket scorers picks and bets for Tuesday, June 11th.
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Wednesday’s Best WNBA First Basket Scorers & Picks
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Minnesota Lynx vs. Seattle Storm First Basket Picks
The undefeated Lynx have been rolling over the competition this season, but the Storm gave them quite a test earlier in the year, as the Lynx only won by five. However, the final score doesn't tell the whole story. The Lynx got out to a 26-11 lead in the first quarter of that game, and though the Storm's Skylar Diggins made the first basket, the Lynx’s hot start gives me confidence that the first scorer of tonight's game will come from their side.
Napheesa Collier is the easy pick for this prop. She is the Lynx's leading scorer, averaging 25.5 points per game, but her odds are only +390 to score first. You could also look at Alanna Smith, who scored the first basket of the game for the Lynx the first time these two met. However, I'm going to back the team's second-leading scorer, Kayle McBride. McBride is averaging 17 points per game and is coming off a 21-point performance against Dallas. In her first game of the season, she dropped 15 against the Storm, and for a great price, it's a good bet to back her to get started early tonight.
Pick: Kayla McBride (+850)
Dallas Wings vs. Phoenix Mercury First Basket Picks
Tonight, the Wings and Mercury meet for the first time this season. The Wings have lost five games in a row, with three of those losses coming by double figures. Meanwhile, the Mercury have been up-and-down of late, but they've still won six of their 10 games this season.
With Phoenix favored to win by 7.5 points, it makes sense that Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas are currently favored to score the first bucket of the game. Yet, while the Wings have struggled to score this season, there's a lot of value in taking one of their players to score the first basket of this game. After all, just because a team scores first doesn't mean they're going to win. And right now, the shortest odds available for any Wings player to score first are +700. With a few options to choose from, I'll take a shot with the Wings' leading scorer, Arike Ogunbowale, to score first in this game.
Pick: Arike Ogunbowale (+800)
Los Angeles Sparks vs. Las Vegas Aces First Basket Picks
The first time these two teams met, the Aces blew the Sparks out, but it was the Sparks' Odyssey Sims who scored the first basket of the game. That would have netted a couple of bettors a huge payday. Despite that success in the first game, Sims is still only +1400 to score first tonight.
Because the Aces ended up winning that first meeting by 15 points, and they've proven early in the season to be the better team this year, I'm going to focus on their side for this prop. For this game, smart money will go on either A'ja Wilson or Jackie Young to make the first basket of the game. In the first game against the Sparks, Wilson scored 35, while Young dropped 26. It was Young who made the first shot for the Aces, and with a much better price available for her than Wilson, I'm going to back her again.
Pick: Jackie Young (+550)
Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.