RADIO
It's here! The 2020 WNBA season was pushed back because of COVID-19, the season was shortened to 22 games, and it's all taking place in Florida, with players staying at IMG Academy and playing games at the Feld Entertainment Center, but at least it's happening. The teams look a lot different this year, with star players like Elena Delle Donne, Jonquel Jones, and Liz Cambage sitting out, while Seattle Storm star Breanna Stewart, who missed all of 2019, is back. It's going to be a fun, entertaining season, and I'm happy to be here all year to help guide our readers through the WNBA and the DFS aspect of it. Hopefully, everyone reading this is planning to actually watch the games and not just build DFS lineups off of numbers. If you haven't watched much WNBA before, give it a chance this season -- it's great basketball played by world-class athletes.
In this article, I'll be providing you with some daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 7/25/20. These lineups picks will range from elite players to mid-priced options and value plays.
Want to talk more about the WNBA? I'm always available on Twitter and always down to discuss women's basketball: @juscarts
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WNBA - DFS Guards
Jewell Loyd (G, Seattle Storm) – vs New York Liberty (DK: $8,100, FD: $5,900)
Loyd had a disappointing 2019 season, but she was also hampered by an ankle injury. In 2018, a healthy Loyd averaged 15.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.3 steals per game, all while hitting 37 percent of her three-point attempts.
Jewell Loyd at her best is a very good player. And her season opens with an incredibly enticing matchup (and a severely underrated price on FanDuel) against the New York Liberty.
New York enters this year with seven rookies -- yeah, I said seven, though one of those, Megan Walker, is unlikely to play on Saturday as she just arrived at the bubble -- and just two players from last year's team on this one. The team is expected to play fast and while there are some youngsters here with defensive upside, I'd imagine the defense -- especially on the perimeter -- takes a bit to get up to speed. That's good news for everyone in Seattle on Saturday, especially Loyd, who'll likely be their top offensive option out of their guards in 2020.
Skylar Diggins-Smith (G, Phoenix Mercury) – vs Los Angeles Sparks (DK: $6,500, FD: $7,300)
Diggins-Smith is the most expensive guard on FanDuel. I do not love her at that price considering she missed all of 2019. On FanDuel, consider Chelsea Gray ($6,800) instead if you want a top guard.
But oh my, the potential value on DraftKings, where Diggins-Smith is only the 15th highest priced guard. FIFTEENTH. For one of the best players in the league's recent history, I'm grabbing her at that price all day, rust and all, because Skylar Diggins-Smith for $6,500 on DraftKings is wild. Like...what is this site thinking levels of wild.
Victoria Vivians (G, Indiana Fever) – vs Washington Mystics (DK: $5,200, FD: $4,000)
Vivians is another player whose pricing is low because she missed the 2019 season. After a solid rookie year where Vivians averaged 8.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game and shot 39.9 percent from deep, hopes were high that she'd breakout last year. But an ACL tear ended those hopes before they began. I don't feel quite as confident in her as Diggins-Smith on Saturday, but I think it's hard to pass up this value on a player who can shoot as well as Vivians.
Additional Notes: Ariel Atkins ($4,700) is a great deal on FanDuel. Sabrina Ionescu ($6,800) isn't so much, as it's really tough to trust a rookie in their first game, especially with defensive star Jordin Canada likely to be checking her, but I do like Ionescu more on DraftKings ($7,500) because of the value there and her upside.
WNBA - DFS Forwards
Emma Meesseman (F, Washington Mystics) – vs Indiana Fever (DK: $12,000 FD: $6,700)
One of the most interesting things about writing these DFS pieces is seeing how player pricing compares across sites.
Meesseman is the most expensive forward on DraftKings. I really like her in this game as she's likely going to be depended on to be the No. 1 scoring option for a depleted Mystics team and her ability to stretch her game should help her against a Fever team whose bigs are more paint-bound, but I still don't know if I'd pay $12,000 for her.
What I would do is pay $6,700 for her on FanDuel. No questions asked. Sign me up.
Teaira McCowan (F, Indiana Fever) – vs Washington Mystics (DK: $10,500, FD: $7,200)
Lot of expensive forwards on this slate in DraftKings! Eight of them, including Elena Delle Donne, who YOU SHOULD NOT PLAY BECAUSE SHE IS NOT PLAYING DO NOT SEE HER NUMBERS AND MAKE THE MISTAKE OF PLAYING HER.
Anyway, now that we have that PSA out of the way, let's talk about Teaira McCowan.
Last year, McCowan ended her season with double-digit points in nine of her final 10 games, including four 20-plus point explosions. She also grabbed nine or more rebounds in her final six games, including a 19-board effort against Seattle.
Washington had a center in LaToya Sanders who might have been able to slow McCowan down, but Sanders opted not to play this year. McCowan has a chance to feast in this one.
Kiah Stokes (F, New York Liberty) – vs Seattle Storm (DK: $6,400, FD: $3,800)
One of the most difficult things to figure out at the start of the season is going to be who'll be strong value plays, because a lot has changed and we don't know a ton about the minutes situation.
Take New York. As mentioned above, a lot of changes here, with just two returning players from 2019. But Kiah Stokes was with the team before that and is the franchise's all-time blocks leader and really the only post big on this roster. Even if she doesn't start, Stokes should get a lot of playing time and rack up a huge percentage of the team's rebounds when she's on the floor. But there are also a lot of questions with her, including how her offense will look, as Stokes has said she'll be looking to shoot more this year, a thing she's never done.
But hey, I'm not super comfortable with most of the low-priced forwards. If I'm going to take one, I'll go with Stokes because we at least have a good idea that she'll get minutes.
Additional Notes: Breanna Stewart (DK: $10,900, FD: $8,000) is playing her first game after a torn Achilles. I'd be careful with her for that reason in the early going this year. Amanda Zahui B (DK: $9,500, FD: $6,000) should get a lot of looks and is a good play on both sites. Aerial Powers ($4,800) feels like a great FanDuel value.
