New York Liberty favored to set single-season WNBA wins record despite loss to Fever
The most games won in a single season by a WNBA team is 34. That means the Brooklyn squad is expected to make history.
Advertisement
With a caveat: The WNBA expanded the schedule this year from 40 games to 44, so it's anticipated that the single-season win-total record might not stand much longer.
Sure, you could discount the Liberty's potential record as simply a factor of an expanded season. But, should New York surpass 34 wins, it's a new benchmark nonetheless, and a bellwether of growth to come.
WNBA regular-season wins odds
The Las Vegas Aces set the current record of 34 wins in 2023, beating the previous record of 29 wins held by the Phoenix Mercury since 2014. What else happened in 2023? The league expanded its schedule to 40 games. (The inaugural season had a 28-game schedule, but for most of league history, the regular season consisted of 34 games. It expanded to 36 in 2022, 40 in 2023 and 44 in 2025.)
Advertisement
With schedule expansions inherently increasing the numbers, perhaps a better benchmark to pin on the wall is winning . That record is still held by the 1998 Houston Comets in the league's second season: The Comets went 27-3 for a 90 percent win percentage. To surpass that record, the Liberty need to clinch 40 wins this season. That's four games above the 'over' on their current win total on BetMGM.
'Whether New York is able to set a new win percentage record will likely come down to how they play in the month of August,' says Ben Pickman. 'In the middle of the month, they play eight games in a 16-day span, with three of those games coming against the Minnesota Lynx and two others (against the Las Vegas Aces and Los Angeles Sparks) in a West Coast swing.'
'It helps that New York will have played only home games from July 1 until July 28 (with the All-Star break squeezed in),' Pickman says. 'But the mid-August stretch, plus four of their last five games being on the road, means New York has a tough closing stretch. Who knows what they will need to play for by then, but those are some scheduling quirks to be aware of when considering their final record.'
Seven of those critical mid-August games will be nationally televised, including on ABC, NBA TV, ESPN, CBS and Prime Video.
Advertisement
Both broadcasting and betting interest in the Liberty have been considerable, and BetMGM says they've received balanced action on the over and under for 35.5 total wins.
'The Liberty have been one of our most popular teams, both in futures and individual games,' Hannah Luther, sports trader at BetMGM, told . 'They received considerably more bets on the moneyline and spread in their last game against the Fever, which is notable because the Fever are almost always the more-bet-on team in their matchups.'
Are any other teams on track to set the new record?
The Minnesota Lynx are closing in on history, too, with a win total set just below 34. Betting the over means you think they'll at least tie the Aces' record, though they'd still need six additional wins to reach the Comets'.
And biggest losing streak goes to…
How about the other side of the spectrum? Not to be a Debbie Downer, but we could see another broken record this year: single-season losses. The Connecticut Sun's win total is set at 10.5 (implying over/under 33.5 losses), and the Dallas Wings is at 12.5 on BetMGM (over/under 31.5 losses).
Advertisement
The record for the most games lost in a single season is 32, set by the Los Angeles Sparks in 2024 during a 40-game season, which translates to a 20 percent win percentage. The odds for the Sun and Wings suggest oddsmakers expect them to nearly hit or exceed that 32-game mark.
'The extra games this season give the Sun and Wings more opportunities to rack up losses,' Luther says. 'Two teams being at risk of breaking the loss record is a testament to how poorly they are performing. This is certainly a rebuilding year for both teams — with new coaches and new players, and the Sun owners potentially selling the team. We expect both teams to struggle all season, which is reflected in their low win totals.'
The 2011 Tulsa Shock hold the record for worst win percentage, having lost 31 of 34 games for a win percentage of 8.8 percent. To hit that low this year, a team would need three wins or fewer. The Wings currently sit at one win, and the Sun at two.
The Athletic.The Athletic
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
New York Liberty, WNBA, Sports Betting
2025 The Athletic Media Company
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
a minute ago
- New York Times
NASCAR considering moving All-Star Race to Dover: Sources
As NASCAR works to finalize its 2026 Cup Series schedule, a last-minute wrinkle has emerged: the increasing possibility of moving the All-Star Race to Dover Motor Speedway in Delaware, sources familiar with the discussions but not authorized to speak freely have told The Athletic. Dover hosting the All-Star Race would then clear a spot for North Wilkesboro Speedway to land a Cup points race, something the venerable North Carolina short track — which has held the non-points All-Star since 2023 — has not done since 1996. Advertisement No decision is final on the location of the All-Star Race, but such a move is under serious consideration. NASCAR is targeting next week to release the full 2026 Cup schedule. Speedway Motorsports owns Dover and North Wilkesboro, making a swap of the All-Star Race between the tracks fairly straightforward. The All-Star Race is traditionally held in May, a week before Memorial Day Weekend, and that is expected again next year, whether the race is held at Dover or North Wilkesboro. Whichever track is selected to host a points race would then be slotted somewhere in the summer, according to sources. The Athletic previously reported North Wilkesboro was expected to host the All-Star Race again, and that was the intention up until this last-minute change in direction. The annual non-points All-Star Race has bounced around to various tracks in recent years, shifting in 2020 from its longtime home at Charlotte Motor Speedway to Bristol Motor Speedway, then to Texas Motor Speedway for two years (2021-2022) before landing at North Wilkesboro. Charlotte, Bristol and Texas are all owned by Speedway Motorsports. Dover is a one-mile concrete surface track that has hosted NASCAR premier series races since 1969. Speedway Motorsports purchased the facility in 2021 for $131.5 million. The return of North Wilkesboro to the points side of the Cup schedule represents a remarkable transformation for a track that, not too long ago, was crumbling to the ground. The beloved short track, which opened in 1947, was a mainstay on the Cup calendar before losing both its points race following the 1996 season, largely due to facilities deemed insufficient at a time when NASCAR was experiencing rapid growth and seeing modern tracks added to the schedule. As part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act passed to stimulate the economy following the COVID-19 pandemic, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper allocated $40 million for infrastructural improvements at three racetracks in North Carolina, one of which was North Wilkesboro. Advertisement Speedway Motorsports president and CEO Marcus Smith then set about modernizing North Wilkesboro, with the intent of NASCAR possibly returning one day. That moment occurred in 2023, and ever since, there has been a push for the track to again host a points race. That moment may now come as soon as 2026. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
CBS News
a minute ago
- CBS News
Braintree loses first game of Little League World Series, 13-0, to Irmo, South Carolina
The Braintree Little League team suffered its first loss of the summer Thursday in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Braintree American 12A squad ran into a buzzsaw in the Irmo, South Carolina team, which handed the Womps a 13-0 loss at the Little League World Series. Braintree's offense was completely shut down by Irmo starting pitcher Joe Giulietti, who tossed 3.1 innings of no-hit ball and fanned eight batters during his time on the mound. Giulietti also helped his own cause with the bat in the bottom of the second inning when he crushed a grand slam off Braintree starter Coleman Gouthro, which put Irmo on top 8-0 at the time. Braintree got it's only hit of the day when Gouthro lined a single to left in the top of the fourth off reliever Brody Miller. But that was it for the Womps, who needed to score four or more runs in the fourth just to keep the game going. Ryan Fennell grounded out after Gouthro's single to end the game. Braintree will get another chance to advance through the elimination bracket, but will have an uphill battle to remain in Williamsport. Braintree will next play Richmond, Texas on Saturday at 3 p.m., and now has to win five straight games to make it to the U.S Final. Richmond lost, 1-0, to the team from Fairfield, Connecticut on Wednesday. Braintree ran into trouble early in Thursday's game. After being held scoreless in the top of the first, the Womps were tagged for a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame. Irmo shortstop Preston Ware took the first pitch from Gouthro and lined it to center for a single. Giulietti followed by hooking a double down the left field line to get Ware to third, and the leadoff man scored two batters later on a sac fly by catcher Andrew Bogan to put Irmo on top, 1-0. Gouthro got to two strikes on Ryan Tillitz with two outs, but the Irmo right fielder ripped an RBI single to left to give his team a 2-0 edge. Gouthro then got first baseman Jacob Gibson looking to end the frame. Caden McCarthy worked a leadoff walk for Braintree to start the top of the second. But Giulietti fanned the next three batters, including both Jack Cushing and Charlie Doolin looking at strike three to end the frame. Irmo then tagged Braintree for six runs in the bottom of the second, including Giulietti's big swing to end Gouthro's outing. After Braintree went down in order in the top of the third -- which saw Giulietti strike out all three batters -- Irmo scored two more runs off two wild pitches by Henry Kuka to go up 10-0. Irmo scored another run off a bases loaded walk, and plated two more on a fielder's choice and an error by third baseman Caden McCarthy in the bottom of the third to make it a 13-0 game. Braintree couldn't rally for four runs to keep the game going, and Irmo won after just four innings. Braintree is the first Massachusetts team to make it to Williamsport since Middleboro in 2022. They got there with a summer of perfection. The Womps swept their summer schedule and went on to win the District 8 tournament, the Section 2 tournament, and the Massachusetts state tournament to earn a spot in the New England Regionals in Bristol, Connecticut. Braintree swept those too, with big wins over Maine (15-0) and Vermont (10-0) before an extra-innings walk-off win over Bedford, New Hampshire in the championship game.
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Brooke Henderson opens with four straight birdies, leads LPGA's Standard Portland Open
She has 12 career LPGA wins, but none in two years. She has just one top 10 in 2025 and that came in the match-play event in Las Vegas back in April. But a 7-under 65 that got her into a three-way tie for the lead at the 2025 Standard Portland Classic may be the spark Brooke Henderson needs for the home stretch to the CME Tour Championship. Only the top 60 make the LPGA season finale. Henderson is 53rd with 11 events left in the regular season after this week. Henderson was energized by her red-hot start at Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland, Oregon. "It was a really awesome start, four birdies in a row. I mean, that's an ideal start any week, especially here. I love coming back to this place. I do have a lot of great memories. A lot of good things happened to me here," she said, alluding to her back-to-back wins in Portland in 2016 and 2017. "So just tried to keep it rolling after that great start and was able to capitalize with three birdies on the back nine to get a little bit closer to the top of the leaderboard." Henderson started on the back nine. After those four straight birdies, she parred the next nine holes before closing with birdies on Nos. 5, 7 and 9. Her hot play certainly caught the eye of LPGA Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez, who joined the Golf Channel booth for a stretch of Thursday's coverage. "I'm a huge fan of Nancy and I talked to her earlier this week. She gave me some great advice, so feel like maybe that gave me a little bit of a boost in the right direction," Henderson said. "But, yeah, you know, just a couple par-5s. No. 10 was a par-5, No. 12 is a par-5, so I was just trying to capitalize on those and the other two were a bit after bonus." This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Brooke Henderson four straight birdies, leads 2025 LPGA Portland Open
