Best bets for the second-half of the 2025 WNBA season
Unlike other sports, the WNBA's All-Star break actually comes at the season's midpoint. This is a great opportunity to assess the futures markets and uncover betting value.
I think a solid wager exists for the Most Improved Player award. Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray has 15/1 odds at DraftKings, and I think she should instead be among the favorites.
When analyzing awards, one must realize these unique markets and entail much more than a player's or team's performance. Those obviously matter but an award also involves votes by media members.
While that variable can be tricky, it also means it is a circumstance beyond an oddsmaker's wheelhouse. Their normal routine requires assessing outcomes of games and an athlete's statistical output. Handicapping voters is a much different animal.
Specifically, the requirements for this award are often left up to interpretation. There is no exact criteria, such as the Sixth Player of the Year mandating a maximum level of games started. Recent winners have included role players significantly increasing their stats or a fringe All-Star having an All-WNBA season.
Gray would be categorized with the latter. She was recently selected as an All-Star starter for the first time and is averaging career-highs in points, rebounds and assists. Her Atlanta Dream are also having a solid season and she figures to produce more now that fellow All-Star Rhyne Howard will miss at least the rest of the month with a knee injury.
Most importantly, ESPN just published an article with four reporters making their midseason selections and Gray earned three of the votes. She was also the consensus choice in June.
Allisha Gray #15 of the Atlanta Dream looks on during the game against the New York Liberty on July 13, 2025 at Barclays Center Arena in Brooklyn, New York.
NBAE via Getty Images
Other candidates, including betting favorite Veronica Burton (+350 odds), also have decent cases. They have boosted their production by more than Gray has. However, they could cannibalize each other, especially since Burton and Kayla Thornton (+400 odds) are teammates on the Golden State Valkyries. Plus, receiving increased minutes on an expansion team could even diminish their candidacy.
Additionally, others with shorter odds (Azura Stevens +550, Brittney Sykes +650, Erica Wheeler +700, Gabby Williams 10/1, Sami Whitcomb 12/1) don't really seem like a case that separates themselves from the others.
Betting on the NBA?
Previous winners Brionna Jones (2021) and Jackie Young (2022) remind me of Gray's season. They only slightly improved their stat lines but each did help their team finish with the league's best record.
Atlanta will not have the top seed but Gray is clearly leading this team and that could be enough. Plus, voters view her in a special light and thus passes the smell test, so Gray could receive this award for both her play and career achievement.
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Doug Kezirian is a New York Post contributor who has over two decades of experience in the betting space, including spending 11 years at ESPN as a host, columnist and betting analyst. He's also the rare personality who has documented success – 14th place in 2023 Circa Million and Las Vegas SuperContest ($37K), two top-10 finishes in 2022 William Hill College Football Challenge ($58K) and also grabbed headlines with a $297K win on the 2021 NFL Draft.
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