Lynx open as favorites to win 2026 WNBA title

The Las Vegas Aces and A'ja Wilson cemented their legacies by winning their third WNBA title in four seasons, capping it off with a sweep of the Phoenix Mercury in the 2025 WNBA Finals. Bookmakers are already looking ahead to the 2026 season and are favoring an up-and-coming powerhouse with a different potential MVP, though.

The Minnesota Lynx opened as the favorite to win the WNBA title in 2026, showing +225 odds at ESPN BET. Other sportsbooks across the marketplace also have the Napheesa Collier-led squad favored but at longer odds, with FanDuel maxing the market out at +350.

Not every major book sees Minnesota, which fell to Phoenix in the 2025 semifinals, taking the crown from Las Vegas next season. BetMGM has the Aces favored for the 2026 title at +300, with the Lynx coming in with the third-best odds at +400. Las Vegas is at least tied for second at every other shop.

High on most odds boards are the Indiana Fever, who are tied with the Aces for second-best odds (+250) at ESPN BET. Indiana made an unexpected run to the WNBA semifinals, almost taking out Las Vegas in five games despite key injuries to Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham, among others. The Fever are perennially one of the most popular future bets among the betting public and are a huge liability for sportsbooks.

The New York Liberty, winners of the 2024 WNBA title, are also in the favorites mix, but the odds differ greatly from book to book, ranging from +330 to +700 across the marketplace. This season's runners-up, the Mercury, are right behind the Liberty on most odds boards but similarly have a broad range of odds, anywhere between +700 and +1100.

The consensus longest odds on the board belong to the expansion Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, both with 250-1 odds for the 2026 title at ESPN BET. While expecting a championship from either of those franchises in their first WNBA seasons could be a stretch, the Golden State Valkyries (+6000) showed there is betting value to be had for expansion teams. The Valkyries blew by their preseason win total of 8.5 less than halfway through their inaugural season and made the playoffs despite preseason +1300 odds to do so.