Betting on Caitlin Clark in the WNBA

The NCAA Women’s National Championship game averaged more than 18.7 million viewers. That makes it the most-watched basketball game in the last five years. Not the most-watched women’s game or college game. The most-watched basketball game, period, including every NBA Finals since 2017.

The interest in women’s basketball is exploding. South Carolina just completed a perfect season in winning the national championship. Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley’s style, experience, and resume make her a legitimate candidate to be a future head coach in the NBA. And Caitlin Clark has an opportunity to change the WNBA, much like how Larry Bird and Magic Johnson transformed the NBA when they moved from college to the pros.

People want to watch women’s basketball, and they also want to bet on it. And on Clark.

Caitlin Clark WNBA Prop Bets

As with Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs at last year’s NBA Draft, Clark is such a big favorite to be drafted No. 1 overall in next week’s WNBA Draft that the bet isn’t being offered. She is being picked by the Indiana Fever.

We do, however, have available bets on how her rookie season will go.

Average Points Per Game

The over/under on Clark’s average points per game in the regular season has been set at 22.0. That is not a coincidence, with the all-time rookie record at 21.9, set by Seimone Augustus in 2006. 

If you take the over, you’re getting -140 odds. The under is paying even money at +100. She must play at least 28 games in 2024 for this bet to become live.

Leading Scorer for Fever

Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever in scoring in 2023 with 18.2 points per game. So with an over/under of 22 points, even if Clark falls short of that number, there is still plenty of room for her to lead her new team in scoring. But since she is a safe bet to win the honor this summer, the payout is not great. You’ll get -280 on a winning bet.

Win Rookie of the Year

Clark is expected to be the most impactful rookie this season and the first overall pick. But she’s only paying -140 to win Rookie of the Year. Part of that is her joining the worst team in the league, the Fever. The other reason is that this is going to be a great rookie class.

Clark has all the headlines, but star Angel Reese from LSU has also declared for the WNBA Draft. Kamilla Cardoso is 6-foot-7 and just won a national title with South Carolina, and was the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Cameron Brink from Stanford was named the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year, and she won a title in 2021. Aaliyah Edwards is an All-American from UConn who was outstanding in the Huskies Final Four loss to Iowa. Rickea Jackson from Tennessee averaged 20.2 points and 8.2 rebounds in her senior season.

It’s a stacked class, and the competition for Rookie of the Year will be one of the more fun races to watch this season.

Win MVP

Only once has a WNBA rookie won the MVP award – Candace Parker in 2008. Typically, the MVP goes to one of the better teams in the league, and it’s likely that the Fever will not be one of the best teams. Clark is paying +1400 to win the MVP award, which ranks her fourth behind A’Ja Wilson (+200) of the Las Vegas Aces, Breanna Stewart (+480) of the New York Liberty, and Alyssa Thomas (+1000) with the Connecticut Sun.

Stewart won the award last year for the second time, and in 2022, Wilson won her second MVP. The only member of the Indiana Fever to win the MVP was Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings back in 2011.