WNBA predictions, picks today: Dream vs. Sky spread among Thursday's best bets
Looking for the best WNBA bets today? Check out Thursday's top picks from Dream-Sky and Fever-Mercury

The WNBA features three games as part of its Thursday, Aug. 7 slate, with two of them being streamed around the country on Prime Video. The Atlanta Dream face off with the Chicago Sky at 8 p.m. ET, then, the Indiana Fever take on the Phoenix Mercury at 10 p.m. ET. The third game of the day sees the Connecticut Sun and Los Angeles Sparks do battle beginning at 10 p.m. ET.
If you're interested in WNBA betting and WNBA player props at the best betting sites for Thursday, Aug. 7, then make sure to see today's WNBA best bets at FanDuel Sportsbook.
Today's WNBA picks:
- Sky +10.5 -105 (1 unit, FD)
- Mercury -5.5 -105 (1 unit, FD)
Sky +10.5
Ariel Atkins returned to the Sky on Tuesday for the first time in nearly a month after suffering a leg injury. Chicago beat Washington 78-64 in her return to action, which snapped an eight game losing streak that, notably, began the game when Atkins got hurt in the first place against the Lynx.
Though it's unclear second-year star Angel Reese will return from her back injury, there's a strong case to be made that Atkins, who's second on the team with 14 PPG, is Chicago's most important player given the emergence of Kamilla Cardoso in Reese's absence. Cardoso became only the 10th player in WNBA history to record a double-double in seven straight games, five of which came when Reese was out of action. Reese and Cardoso may not be the best fit together, but each has shined when the other has been out.
The Dream aren't the healthiest team, either, as Rhyne Howard is unlikely to return any time soon from a knee injury she suffered in July. Brittney Griner has also missed the past two games for Atlanta with a neck injury.
The Dream are also a weird team in that they've lost four games outright as favorites of at least eight points and have won three games outright when they've been underdogs of at least seven points. With how often they shoot 3-pointers, the variance in their games is higher than almost every other WNBA team.
The Dream have won all three matchups against the Sky this season by double digits, including the last one by an 86-49 score (in Chicago's first game without both Atkins and Reese). But I just can't get to this high of a line with a healthy Atkins back in the fold.
Mercury -5.5
The Mercury have beaten up on terrible teams in their past two contests, so it's not necessarily the most convincing statement after having lost five of their prior six games. But I think this spot is too good to pass up for Phoenix.
This is the Fever's fourth road game in seven days, traveling to Dallas, Seattle, Los Angeles and now Phoenix. Indiana is just coming off of a 100-91 defeat to the Sparks on Tuesday that wasn't as close as the final score considering it was a 22-point game with under six minutes left in the fourth quarter. But that game featured a lot of possessions thanks to each team playing at a torrid pace of late. In fact, no team has been playing at a faster pace in the WNBA over the past 12 games than the Fever.
Between all of those possessions and all of this recent travel, I think Indiana could get tired legs in this game. This is also a nice revenge spot for De'Wanna Bonner and the Mercury, with Bonner getting booed heavily in Indianapolis last Wednesday in a 107-101 Fever win. Bonner left the Fever midway through this season to join the Mercury, and she'll have a chance to show why she made that decision in front of her new home crowd.
It was also nice to see Satou Sabally back with the Mercury after she was benched in the second half three games ago and missed Phoenix's contest two games ago due to personal reasons. Sabally came back with a vengeance against the Sun last game, scoring her most points (23) and grabbing her most rebounds (6) in a game since June. With an engaged Sabally back in the fold, there aren't many teams more talented than the Mercury—and certainly not a Fever squad without Caitlin Clark.
















