A'ja Wilson Opens 2026 at +220 as MVP Favorite
A'ja Wilson opened 2026 as the consensus preseason favorite to win her fifth WNBA MVP award, and DraftKings posted her at +220 on Friday morning. Caitlin Clark sat next at +240, leaving Wilson in front even as bettors poured attention onto Clark and Paige Bueckers.
Wilson Ahead of Clark
Wilson had already moved into the odds lead the week before the season, and the shift tightened by Friday morning. As recently as Wednesday, Clark topped the board at +245 while Wilson was at +265, but the gap flipped before opening day and pushed Napheesa Collier back to +800.
The move also tracked with how WNBA general managers viewed the race. Wilson received the highest percentage of votes from GMs in a survey released earlier in the week, giving her the same lead in the room that she held in the market.
Clark And Bueckers Draw Money
Betting action still leaned hard toward the two younger stars. Clark drew 29.5% of the MVP tickets at BetMGM, while Paige Bueckers had fifth-best odds at 14-1 at DraftKings and was as long as 20-1 at other sportsbooks. BetMGM said 85% of handle backed Bueckers, a split that explains why her number stayed shorter than the broader market might suggest.
That interest has created real exposure on the other end. Bueckers' Dallas Wings were 30-1 to win the title and ranked as one of the largest liabilities at BetMGM and DraftKings, while sportsbooks also had to price Clark's Indiana Fever at +450 on the Finals board.
Futures Board Stays Tight
The top of the market remained crowded beyond the MVP race. The New York Liberty were the title favorite at +220 at DraftKings, followed by Wilson's Las Vegas Aces at +390 and the Fever at +450, while the Atlanta Dream shortened from 18-1 to +650 after an offseason. On the player side, Napheesa Collier stayed in the mix, but Tyler Groth put the issue plainly: "How much time she misses will determine if she can contend for MVP."
For bettors, the board now looks like a split market: Wilson still owns the preseason MVP lead, but Clark and Bueckers are pulling the most public money, and that leaves sportsbooks balancing popularity against the numbers they have posted on the Aces, Fever and Wings.
