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With the WNBA season tipping off this week, it's time to look at some preseason futures odds for any best bets. A'ja Wilson captured her third MVP last season and will attempt to break the WNBA record this campaign with her fourth, but can somebody else emerge to win the award?

Before looking at the latest WNBA MVP odds at Caesars Sportsbook, let's look at the trends for who has won the award in the past. 

Wilson carried the Aces to a 27-13 finish last season, which was good for fourth in the WNBA standings. Before Wilson last season and Breanna Stewart (the Liberty were second at 32-8) in 2023, the previous six MVP winners had all played for the team with the best record. Given the elevated talent level in the WNBA and multiple contenders in the top tier of teams, I think the MVP winner will have to be on one of the best teams, but not necessarily the best. 

At Caesars Sportsbook, there are four teams with win totals in the thirties with the regular season expanding to 44 games: the Liberty (32.5), Fever (31.5), Aces (30.5) and Lynx (30.5). 

There has also only been one player who has been named MVP in consecutive seasons—Cynthia Cooper in 1997 and 1998 in the first two seasons of the WNBA. Wilson was also the second unanimous MVP winner in WNBA history last season, so she will have a high bar to clear if she were to win her fourth this season. 

For this upcoming season, second-year Fever star Caitlin Clark is the +200 MVP favorite, followed by Wilson at +220. After Clark's historic rookie campaign and the offseason additions Indiana made to bolster its rotation and coaching staff, it's easy to see why the Fever are coming in with incredible hype. 

Clark is also the most popular player in the league, and she will dwarf every other player when it comes to betting action for MVP. As a result, I think sportsbooks have made her MVP price shorter than it should be because of the liability stacking up with so many people backing Clark.

Lynx forward Napheesa Collier has the third-lowest MVP odds at +300, and she's coming off an incredible season where she and her team both blew expectations out of the water. The Lynx's preseason win total in 2024 was 16.5, and they easily cruised past that with a 30-10 record before taking the eventual champion Liberty to overtime in the deciding Game 5 of last year's WNBA Finals. 

Collier averaged 20.4 points per game in 2024, the second-best scoring season in the 28-year-old's WNBA career. She also finished with career-best marks in rebounds (9.7), assists (3.4), steals (1.9) and blocks (1.4). As a result, she took home the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year award and has the second-best odds to win DPOY at +275—only behind Wilson at +120.

Stewart is the last player with MVP odds shorter than +2500, and she also has the third-lowest DPOY odds at +1000. Stewart took a slight step back after her MVP campaign in 2023, with her scoring (23.0 to 20.4), rebounding (9.3 to 8.5) and shooting (46.5% to 45.8%) each dipping a bit in 2024. While her team did win the championship, it was actually fellow Liberty big Jonquel Jones who won WNBA Finals MVP last season over Stewart. Stewart underwent offseason meniscus surgery and will turn 31 in August, making her the oldest player of the four top MVP contenders (Wilson turns 29 in August and Collier turns 29 in September). 

In the next tier of players on the MVP odds board are Satou Sabally at +2500, Sabrina Ionescu at +2500, Kelsey Plum at +3000 and Alyssa Thomas at +3000. Of those four players, only Ionescu is back with her team, as she aims to repeat as a champion with the Liberty. Sabally and Thomas both joined the Phoenix Mercury, while Plum was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks in a trade that brought Jewell Loyd (+5000 MVP odds) to the Aces. 

In that tier, Sabally is the most interesting longshot for a couple of reasons. There's the uncertainty surrounding her new team and whether the Mercury could end up being elite (their win total is 24.5) with the major offseason overhaul of losing Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner while adding Sabally and Alyssa Thomas. Sabally also has a top-5 finish in MVP voting in 2023 with the Wings before her 2024 campaign was marred by injury. While on the Wings, her then-teammate Arike Ogunbowale had the highest usage on the team and would dominate the team's shots. Sabally now has a chance to carve out a new role as the scoring alpha with the Mercury.

PICK: Napheesa Collier +300

Clark is the MVP favorite, but she doesn't have the same two-way impact as the other top contenders. After all, Wilson, Collier and Stewart are first, second and third, respectively, for Defensive Player of the Year, whereas Clark is all the way down at +7500. Clark is a brilliant offensive player, but if she isn't up to snuff defensively, the Fever will likely have to finish with the best record in the WNBA in order for her to have a legitimate chance of winning the award.

Collier checks more boxes for me, and the Lynx don't have the same star power as the Fever, Liberty and Aces. If the Lynx are in the same ballpark for wins as those other three teams, Collier deserves a massive amount of credit and her first career MVP award.