Welcome to our first WNBA DFS Playbook! I’m so excited to provide DFS analysis for WNBA games, I don’t even know where to start. I guess I’ll start with what we know so far in this young WNBA season.
The answer is, we don’t really know much. No team has played more than two games this season, and four of those teams (San Antonio, Los Angeles, Seattle and Chicago) played those games with significant starters out due to injury or because they were finishing up their seasons overseas. While we do know Monique Curry and Odyssey Sims won’t score 20+ points while their teams' top scoring options are available, we don’t have a great understanding of what exactly those teams will look like.
The San Antonio Stars are probably the greatest mystery. We still haven’t seen first overall draft pick Kelsey Plum or the Stars’s two leading scorers from last season. If Plum, Moriah Jefferson and Kayla McBride all play Friday, it is probably best to avoid all three for cash games until we see how their usage shakes out.
I am fading Elena Delle Donne, and not because I am disappointed she requested a trade from the Chicago Sky. I know I run the risk of looking silly by fading the 2015 MVP, but I am not unaccustomed to looking silly. Delle Donne failed to top 15 points in any of her three games against the Sparks last season, and I don’t feel particularly good about her ability to buck that trend in her first road game with her new team. The Sparks have the size and athleticism to match up with Delle Donne better than most, and I would much rather pay for Nneka Ogwumike, Brittney Griner or even Candace Parker.
This is the first of DFS WNBA Playbooks in the next month, and the plan, for now, is to have a playbook and optimal lineups whenever there are three or more games on the WNBA slate. As always, I look forward to your feedback as I try to provide the best possible WNBA coverage going forward. Please leave a comment below or in the FANation forum, or hit me up on Twitter.
DFS WNBA PLAYBOOK:
| Player | FanDuel | Comments |
| Dianna Taurasi, G, PHO | $ 5,600 | Taurasi averaged 17.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game last season. If she gets anywhere close to those numbers Friday she will be a nice value. If Moriah Jefferson and Kelsey Plum return, Taurasi will have a size advantage against San Antonio’s backcourt. Taurasi’s name recognition and price will likely make her a popular play, so I may look elsewhere for GPP lineups. |
| Danielle Robinson, G, PHO | $ 4,200 | The Mercury should score plenty in this game, and Danielle Robinson will likely be involved. She has had at least eight points, four rebounds and six assists in each game so far this season, and that is fine, safe production at her price. |
| Cappie Pondexter, G, CHI | $ 5,300 | Even when Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley return, Cappie Pondexter will have to carry much of the offensive load for the Sky. She had nine points on 3-11 shooting Sunday, but she had 12.9 points per game on 42.9 percent shooting last season. That is what I expect going forward. |
| Bria Holmes, G, ATL | $ 4,500 | Bria Holmes had 15 points on a team-high 12 field goal attempts in Atlanta's season-opening win over the Sun. Holmes averaged 15.5 points in the playoffs in her rookie year, and I think this is the level of production we can expect going forward. |
| Layshia Clarendon, G, ATL | $ 4,300 | Clarendon took 11 shots Saturday after she averaged 7.8 last season. Like Holmes, she should benefit with Angel McCoughtry out, and she remains pretty cheap. |
| Tayler Hill, G, WAS | $ 5,200 | She probably isn't a good enough shooter to be a GPP play, but Hill feels super safe. She scored 15 points on 3-9 shooting Saturday after she averaged 15.4 ppg and shot 34.8 percent from the field in 2016. |
| Monique Curry, G, SAS | $ 6,000 | With Kelsey Plum and Moriah Jefferson out, Curry should carry the scoring load again. She is an even better play if Kayla McBride is out as well. |
| Jessica Breland, F, CHI | $ 4,300 | Breland may not tie for the team lead in field goal attempts again with Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley back from Europe, but she almost certainly won’t turn the ball over six times, either. Atlanta was outrebounded 44 to 33 in the season opener, so another double-digit effort from Breland on the glass would not be shocking. |
| Brittney Griner, F, PHO | $ 6,300 | At the very least, Griner is a GPP consideration. Few players are capable of putting up 30 points and 10 rebounds, as Griner did Wednesday. The players who do have that upside all cost a lot more. The Stars have the second-worst defensive rating and rebound percentage in the WNBA, so another double-double could be coming. |
| Isabelle Harrison, F, SAS | $ 3,500 | The Mercury are just as bad at rebounding as the Stars, and someone is going to have to corral misses in this game. Harrison is third on the Stars in rebounding, but both Alex Montgomery and Monique Currie could see fewer minutes if San Antonio’s backcourt is healthy. That would pave the way for Harrison to go to work on the glass. At the very least, Harrison should get you something at a cheap price. |
| Damiris Dantas, F, ATL | $ 4,400 | The Dream should be a nice source of value as everyone picks up the slack with Angel McCoughtry out. Dantas had 13 points, five rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes Saturday. |
| Nneka Ogwumike, F, LA | $ 8,000 | The reigning MVP had 23 points, four rebounds, an assists and five steals in the season opener. You likely will have to pay up for at least one of the forwards, and she gets my vote. |
| Emma Meesseman, F, WAS | $ 6,800 | Any concerns about the fit with Elena Delle Donne should have been put to rest after Meesseman had 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists Sunday. Her ceiling may not be particularly high, but her floor is. |
FANDUEL OPTIMALS:
| POS | FanDuel Cash | POS | FanDuel GPP | ||
| G | Daneille Robinson | $4,200 | G | Diana Taurasi | $5,600 |
| G | Bria Holmes | $4,500 | G | Bria Holmes | $4,500 |
| G | Cappie Pondexter | $5,300 | G | Monique Currie | $6,000 |
| F | Jessica Breland | $4,300 | F | Brittney Griner | $6,300 |
| F | Nneka Ogwumike | $8,000 | F | Isabelle Harrison | $3,500 |
| F | Brittney Griner | $6,300 | F | Jessica Breland | $4,300 |
| F | Emma Meesseman | $6,800 | F | Nneka Ogwumike | $8,000 |
| Total | $39,400 | Total | $39,200 | ||
| Remaining | $600 | Remaining | $800 |