Liberty enters as the heavy betting favorite to win the WNBA title

The New York Liberty, founded in 1997 as one of the WNBA's original franchises, has the distinction of taking home its first championship in team history.

On ESPN BET, New York opened Wednesday as the -290 favorite to win the WNBA Finals against the Minnesota Lynx, who are +240 underdogs to win the league's finals series; They are seeking their fifth title in franchise history and first since 2017.

Odds for Thursday's first game in Brooklyn opened at multiple sportsbooks, with the Liberty as the consensus 5.5-point favorites. Minnesota took a 3-1 lead against New York in the regular season.

The Liberty entered the 2024 season with high expectations and +245 odds to win the regular season championship, trailing only the Las Vegas Aces (+100), whom they defeated in the semifinals. Entering the postseason, New York had the third-most bets and odds to win the title on ESPN BET, but was nowhere near as popular as the Aces or Indiana Fever, which themselves brought in over 45% of sports betting wagers and money.

As a result, sportsbooks have liability concerns with New York, but significantly fewer than if Las Vegas or Indiana were playing for the title. BetMGM confirmed this, adding that over 50% of bets placed on this season's champions were on one of these two teams.

The Lynx, meanwhile, started the season at +5000 and won the championship, while at times in the offseason they were as high as +7500. According to ESPN Research, the longest preseason underdog since 2019 was the Phoenix Mercury at +1000, who then reached the WNBA Finals.

New York's Breanna Stewart enters the final as the MVP favorite at +110, followed by her teammate Sabrina Ionescu at +200. Minnesota's Napheesa Collier, the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year, has a +260 chance of winning the honor. The next closest player, Jonquel Jones of New York, comes in at +3000.