“Is This April Fools?”: WNBA Odds Surrounding Caitlin Clark Draws Strong Criticism

There are very few takers for the Caitlin Clark comeback arc. The 2024 Rookie Of The Year spent the majority of the 2025 season on the sidelines with multiple soft-tissue injuries. Ahead of the 2026 season after winning the MVP at the Team USA Qualifiers, the GM Survey did not have Clark among the top MVP favorites. ESPN ranked her the 10th best player in the league, while the Athletic left her out of their preseason All-WNBA first team. Yet, the sportsbook odds indicate something else, infuriating the fans in the process. 

Clark is aiming to become the best. “I think people forget that, at the end of the day, I care more than all of you. I want to be the best,” She said. “I’m always analyzing my play. I’m always trying to find ways to be better. And so, I think just that part of it.” And the initial sportsbook odds from ESPN indicate that she can be. According to ESPN, Clark is the preseason favorite to win the MVP. 

 

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ESPN also had the New York Liberty winning the championship with +220 odds and Olivia Miles winning the rookie of the year at +260. But the focus was on Clark’s ranking as the favorite despite A’ja Wilson coming off an MVP season while winning the title. Wilson already has 4 MVP titles. Naturally, this drew plenty of attention, as fans are backing A’ja Wilson to win back-to-back MVPs.

Fans Back A’ja Wilson For MVP Despite Caitlin Clark Return 

“Is this April fools? ” joked a fan. “Umm i really don’t know why? She’s not even the best player in the league no shade fr,” wrote another. 

Clark showed out as a rookie. She averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.4 assists on 41/34/90 splits to win the Rookie Of The Year, earn WNBA First Team honors, get an All-Star call up and finish fourth in the MVP. She also broke the league assist record in her first season. But the injuries have changed the perception of Clark. There are questions on a change in style as off-ball conversations grow. Her defensive prowess is being questioned along with the persistent turnover issues. In addition, she has multiple All-WNBA level contributors around her.  

“As a Fever fan from Indy With Mitchell and Boston on that team, ummm idk about this and if you have other players like Aja dominating on both sides of the ball, idk how an offensive player would win MVP over that,” wrote a fan. No point guard has ever won the WNBA MVP. the last guard to win it was Diana Taurasi in 2009. 

So, it’s already an uphill task for Clark. In addition, she has to share the production with Mitchell and Boston. Mitchell averaged 20.2 points and had a career high season. The same goes for Boston, who averaged 15 points and 8.2 rebounds. 

On the other hand, the Aces’ offense runs through Wilson, as no other player averaged above 17 points apart from Wilson. Only Young scores 16.5 a game, while others contribute fewer than 12 points. Wilson is also the reigning defensive player of the year, who averaged 2.3 blocks and 1.3 steals a game, while Clark is seen as a liability on defense. In addition, Bet365 and BetGm have Wilson as the favorite to open the season. However, there is a possibility of voter fatigue or an injury that could give Clark a chance. 

“Only if A’ja gets injured or the voters have fatigue of making her MVP all the time lol. Also, there are several other players that are better and poised to have great seasons as well,” analyzed a fan. “But yeah, pretty much that trophy is A’ja’s until she says it isn’t. From a Sparks fan.”

We have seen multiple examples of this in the NBA with Michael Jordan, LeBron James and even Nikola Jokic to some extent. Candace Parker already raised the question last year and the voters still went with A’ja. An injury is a possibility as well but Wilson ‘s last serious injury came in 2019 where she missed 4 weeks. Beyond WIlson, players like Paige Bueckers, Mitchell, Boston, Kelsey Plum and Alyssa Thomas are in the mix as well. Another fan analyzed that this is a sportsbook strategy to get money from the casuals.

“Yall not realizing that this is just sportsbooks recognizing that they can lower the odds on her winning and still get tons of free money with minimal risk from all the people that think she’s a lock to win with no real support,” wrote a fan. The initial odds are set by the specific sportsbook and they fluctuate with the market from then on. 

Clark is the most popular player in the league without question. So, when she appears as the favorite to win the MVP, the fans who aren’t familiar with the league are more likely to take the bet. It’s a business strategy. 

It happened last year as well when Clark was set as the preseason favorite, but the odds dropped as the season went on. That’s not to say Clark can’t win the MVP. But, in the preseason, based on the data available, she needs to prove a lot more.