The 2025 WNBA season is rapidly approaching and we should be in for an incredible season. Last season was historical for the WNBA’s viewership, much thanks to Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, and that trend should only continue with an influx of even more talent hitting the WNBA in the draft.
Last year’’s Rookie of the Year race was back-and-forth between Clark and Reese for a big chunk of the season, but Clark ended up running away with the award thanks to an unbelievable stretch in the second half of the season.
This year, UConn Huskies star Paige Bueckers was the clear No. 1 overall pick in the draft as she is one of the best players that women’s college basketball has seen over the last few years. Not only is she incredibly talented, but she’s also very popular which made the pick even easier. With the current state of the WNBA, increasing the viewership is still a big priority, and she will undoubtedly do that.
That said, though she was the clear choice to go first overall in the draft, the WNBA Rookie of the Year odds for this season might be a bit of a surprise. Bueckers is still the favorite, and a clear favorite at that, but she isn’t favored by nearly as much as you might think.
As it currently stands, Bueckers is a -375 favorite to win the award, with Dominique Molonga trailing right behind her with +450 odds. For comparison, Clark’s opening line to win the award last year was -750, which is double the odds of Bueckers.
Granted, Clark is currently a much better talent, but Bueckers feels like the same kind of lock as she was and this draft class isn’t very deep. Only time will tell if the odds were accurate, but these could be some great odds to cash in on despite them still heavily favoring Bueckers winning the award.
