{"id":101777,"date":"2024-10-18T09:40:15","date_gmt":"2024-10-18T13:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=101777"},"modified":"2026-03-10T23:30:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T03:30:49","slug":"new-york-liberty-star-favored-for-wnba-finals-mvp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/18\/new-york-liberty-star-favored-for-wnba-finals-mvp\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Liberty Star Favored For WNBA Finals MVP"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/09\/lynx-vs-liberty-betting-odds-who-will-win-the-wnba-finals\/\" target=\"_self\">WNBA Finals<\/a> are almost over, which means the WNBA Finals MVP will soon be crowned. The New York Liberty are ahead in the series 2-1 after a thrilling <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/14\/wnba-playoffs-betting-liberty-vs-lynx-wnba-finals-game-3-odds\/\" target=\"_self\">Game 3<\/a> in Minnesota. Although the series is far from over, one player has separated herself as the favorite. Let&#8217;s look at the WNBA Finals MVP odds to see what is the best WNBA bet today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>New York Liberty Star Favored For WNBA Finals MVP<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>[tgdcta items=&#8221;1&#8243; id=&#8221;170476&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Pre-Series Odds<\/strong><\/h3>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">SABRINA STEP-BACK WINS IT FOR THE LIBERTY \ud83d\udd25 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UAsmAyz69U\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/UAsmAyz69U<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SportsCenter\/status\/1846736249245106227?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 17, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Liberty were always favored to win the WNBA Finals. They have a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/07\/boston-celtics-win-total-odds-and-betting-preview\/\" target=\"_self\">stacked team<\/a> with three All-WNBA selections: <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/wnba\/players\/s\/stewabr01w.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Breanna Stewart<\/a>, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/wnba\/players\/i\/ionessa01w.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sabrina Ionescu<\/a>, and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/wnba\/players\/j\/jonesjo01w.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jonquel Jones<\/a>. Before the series started, the Liberty were favored to win the series by -260, while the Lynx odds were +210. The Liberty have also been favored in each game of the series and have covered once lost against the spread and pushed once.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before the series started, three players were highlighted as the most likely to win the WNBA Finals MVP award. For the Liberty, it was forward Breanna Stewart and point guard Sabrina Ionescu. For the Lynx, it was Defensive Player of the Year <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/wnba\/players\/c\/collina01w.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Napheesa Collier<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Napheesa Collier filthy fadeaway game-winner over Jonquel Jones in OT x Father Stretch My Hands !! Lynx go up 1-0 in the wnba finals ! <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/QrR5ZMyBe4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/QrR5ZMyBe4<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Chris Williamson (@CWilliamson44) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CWilliamson44\/status\/1844640533735424212?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 11, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stewart and Ionescu were the two favorites to win the award before the series. Stewart was the odds-on favorite at +115, and Ionescu had the second shortest odds at +210. Collier was the next most likely to win the award at +240.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Oh, How the Odds Have Changed<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the WNBA Finals have progressed, the odds for the Finals MVP award have shifted. The Lynx surprised the Liberty in a Game 1 overtime thriller. After the game, Collier, who had 21 points, eight rebounds, and six blocks, went to +140 to win the award. After the Liberty recovered in Game 2 and tied the series, Collier went back to +250 to win the award.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ionescu had a poor Game 1, shooting 30.8% from the field for 19 points. She shot better from the field in Game 2 but only scored 15 points with five assists. After Game 2, Ionescu\u2019s\u00a0 WNBA Finals MVP odds had shot to +600.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stewart\u2019s odds dropped a bit after Game 1 as she had a rough shooting night, going 6-of-21 from the field. Then, after a strong Game 2 performance that included a record-setting seven steals, she shifted to her lowest odds yet, -115.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Breanna Stewart was *everywhere* on defense. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hiJPGwX6IY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/hiJPGwX6IY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Steve Jones (@stevejones20) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/stevejones20\/status\/1846736064649585008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 17, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Current WNBA Finals MVP Odds<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oddsmakers are expecting the Liberty to come out on top in this series. They are currently -950 to win the series. There\u2019s no wonder, then, why Stewart and Ionescu lead as the top contenders for the WNBA Finals award. Although Ionescu was the hero of Game 3 with an epic three-pointer that sealed the game, her odds currently only sit at +600.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stewart is who oddsmakers are expecting to grab the Finals MVP. Stewart won awards in 2018 and 2020 with the Seattle Storm and has so far proved herself the best player in this series. Her seven-steal performance in Game 2 was incredible, and in Game 3, she was even better. She scored 30 points with 11 rebounds and four blocks in the tight win.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Collier is third on the list at +750. The next closest Lynx player is <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/wnba\/players\/m\/mcbrika01w.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kayla McBride<\/a> at +6000. Collier would most definitely win the award if the Lynx come back from down 1-2, but oddsmakers are thinking that is an unlikely outcome. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The WNBA Finals are almost over, which means the WNBA Finals MVP will soon be crowned. The New York Liberty are ahead in the series 2-1 after a thrilling Game 3 in Minnesota. Although the series is far from over, one player has separated herself as the favorite. Let&#8217;s look at the WNBA Finals MVP [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5284,"featured_media":101822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[49709,1608,49087],"tags":[3153,49629,3640,49658,2958,3152,49630,3861,49730],"class_list":["post-101777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wnba","category-basketball","category-basketball-betting","tag-breanna-stewart","tag-jonquel-jones","tag-minnesota-lynx","tag-napheesa-collier","tag-new-york-liberty","tag-sabrina-ionescu","tag-wnba-betting","tag-wnba-finals","tag-wnba-finals-mvp"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5284"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101777"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":180985,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101777\/revisions\/180985"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}