Aces, Liberty are top betting favorites as WNBA playoffs tip off Wednesday

With the WNBA playoff matchups set, the postseason tips off Wednesday night with a doubleheader, starting with the third-seeded Connecticut Sun hosting the No. 6 seed Minnesota Lynx, followed by the defending champion and No. 1 seed Las Vegas Aces hosting the No. 8 seed Chicago Sky.

On Friday, the No. 2 seed New York Liberty will host the No. 7 seed Washington Mystics, while the No. 4 seed Dallas Wings will face off against the No. 5 seed Atlanta Dream. All four matchups will be a best-of-three format that moves to best-of-five series in the semifinals and WNBA Finals.

There will be plenty of Philadelphia flavor across all four matchups, from North Philly native Kahleah Copper looking to push the Sky back into the WNBA Finals to Villanova great Maddy Siegrist becoming a key bench player for the Wings.

Before the season started, most sportsbooks had the Liberty and Aces priced similarly on odds boards to win the WNBA Finals, and as the playoffs begin, both teams remain at the top. Here’s a look at the odds to win the WNBA championship, along with the odds for each team to advance to the WNBA playoff semifinal.

» READ MORE: There’s no team in Philly, but there’s plenty of local flair in the WNBA playoffs

Odds are courtesy of FanDuel, current at the time of publishing, and subject to change.

When we last checked in on the championship odds coming out of the All-Star break, the Aces’ odds lead over the Liberty had shrunk. On July 18, the Aces, led by 2022 MVP A’ja Wilson, were -300 to win the title, while the Liberty were valued at +250. Now, the Aces sit at -145, a slim odds lead over the Liberty, who are priced at +145 after acquiring likely 2023 WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart during the offseason.

The Sun have steadied the third spot most of the season, led by WNBA all-time triple-doubles leader Alyssa Thomas, who’s averaging 15.5 points, a league-best 9.9 rebounds, and 7.9 assists. Connecticut’s odds were as low as 12/1 to win the title earlier in the season, but now sit at 19/1 entering the playoffs, hoping to return to the WNBA Finals after losing in four games last season to the Aces.

Of the teams listed, no one made a bigger jump in the odds than the Wings, led by their stars, Arike Ogunbowale, Natasha Howard, and AP Most Improved Player of the Year Satou Sabally. Priced at +10000 to win the championship after the All-Star break, the Wings now sit at 23/1 odds to win the championship and had two wins over the Sun in August and an impressive defeat of the Aces in July.

» READ MORE: WNBA odds reset: Aces remain big favorites to repeat, Breanna Stewart running away with MVP