2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year Odds: Is Caitlin Clark Worth Betting On?

The WNBA inherited a superstar when the Indiana Fever took Caitlin Clark with the #1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.

Clark admittedly hasn’t always been treated with kindness, but she’s responded with stellar stats for a first-year player, while her Fever have an outside chance at sneaking into the WNBA Playoffs.

She also is an amazing bet to claim some hardware in his first WNBA season. The latest 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year odds paint a clear portrait; this is Clark’s race to lose, and she probably won’t.

The problem? The WNBA odds are so steep that betting on her doesn’t make sense. Let’s take a close look at the pricing and gauge what you should do if you want to bet on who will win the 2024 WNBA ROY award.

Current 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year Odds

Caitlin Clark has had her ups and downs, but she’s flashed brilliance at times. She also has serious star power, so even if anyone else was comparable, it’d be crazy if the league didn’t want her to win.

The latest odds to win the 2024 WNBA ROY award tell us all we need to know.

Why is Caitlin Clark the 2024 WNBA ROY Favorite?

Star power aside, Caitlin Clark is favored to win the WNBA Rookie of the Year award because she’s hands down the best rookie this season. One could argue Angel Reese is a lot closer than the odds suggest, but I wouldn’t personally agree. Although Clark is a star on the rise and a lock to win this award, her team is a longshot in the WNBA Championship odds.

The price on Clark is still egregious, don’t get me wrong. That said, it’s somewhat warranted when you look at her numbers. Clark is putting up over 16 points per game, and she’s displayed an ability to explode as a scorer already with two 30-point eruptions.

Her most impressive effort came on June 7th, when she hit seven shots from long range.

Some people in the WNBA think she’s just a shooter, but that’s lazy analysis. She also happens to have one of the better handles in the league, and is also inside the top-5 in assists with 6.2 per game.

Despite being a guard, Clark also hits the glass with fervor, posting 5.5 rebounds per contest. Her 1.4 steals per game show anticipation and an underrated defensive edge, as well.

Clark has some growing to do yet, but these are very strong numbers for a rookie. They certainly are good enough to land her the WNBA ROY award, too. And, if she keeps this up, Clark could be in the running for the WNBA MVP Award in the near future.

Can Angel Reese Stage the Upset?

The WNBA odds for Rookie of the Year undeniably suggest this is Clark’s award to lose. However, crazy things happen all the time.

Not only did we just see another rookie go down with a devastating knee injury, but Clark herself has had some pretty low-level outings for how big her name is.

If Clark gets hurt or simply struggles down the stretch, there could absolutely be room for Reese to rise up and take over as the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year favorite.

While I deem that to be unlikely, Reese still has a case. One huge reason is her dominance on the glass. Reese is registering a whopping 10.8 rebounds per game at the moment, which is good for second most in the WNBA.

In fact, she’s posted eight consecutive double-doubles at the time of this writing.

Making history certainly puts you on the map. However, averaging a double-double should serve as a reminder that she isn’t just a good rebounder.

Reese also puts up over 12 points per game and chips in 1.9 steals per game. Given her size, I’d like to see a better shooting percentage and more blocks, but she’s proven to be a very solid player right away.

Best WNBA Rookie of the Year Longshot Bet

There are only five candidates that you can actually back when betting on the 2024 WNBA ROY winner, so I’ll wrap up this year’s group with my favorite longshot bet.

That may have been L.A. rookie Cameron brink at one point, but her stats left a lot to be desired, and she’s now done for the year thanks to a torn ACL.

If you’re looking for a major value bet in this market, I think it’s easily Rickea Jackson. The forward was already producing (10 points and 3.4 rebounds per game), but that was with Cameron Brink also stealing minutes.

Brink is gone now, while the Sparks (4-12 at the time of this writing) are one of the worst teams in the WNBA. It stands to reason that Jackson could see a serious spike in playing time, and elite production could surely follow.

There’s still a lot of season to be played yet, too. What if Jackson’s role grows exponentially, the Sparks progress, and/or Clark or Reese get hurt? It’s not like Jackson is some scrub. The 4th overall pick in this year’s draft, Jackson was putting up 20 points and 8.2 rebounds per game a year ago at Tennessee.

She probably won’t win, but betting on Clark at -3500 isn’t viable. Backing Reese or Jackson (albeit very lightly) makes life fun.

Last 10 WNBA Rookie of the Year Winners

Strategy for Betting on the WNBA ROY Winner

Caitlin Clark is the runaway betting favorite to win this award. You don’t need me to tell you that. However, betting on her at her current price would be silly.

Whether you are planning on doing that or not, here are some WNBA Rookie of the Year betting tips I’d keep in mind.

Place Your Bets Early

It’s a little late for this now, but ideally, you bet on who you think will win the WNBA Rookie of the Year as soon as possible. Before the 2024 WNBA season began, you could have backed Caitlin Clark for a much better price than -3500.

Clark obviously lived up to the expectations (to a degree, at least), and the rest is history. However, if you targeted her at WNBA betting sites months ago, you’d feel pretty great about that bet right now.

It’s easy to say this after the fact, but the point still stands; identify the bets you like prior to the season and finalize your wagers before that first tip. You can always adjust and/or hedge your bets as the season progresses, but more often than not the opening price is one you won’t see again the rest of the year.

Target High Draft Picks

Another WNBA Rookie of the Year betting tip is to target incoming rookies that were picked early in the WNBA Draft. This isn’t a new strategy, but it’s still one you’ll want to implement yearly.

Random rookies can outshine the top prospects, but eventually talent does win out. The higher, the better, as 10 rookie of the year winners were 1st overall picks since 2010.

There are going to be some outliers, of course. Charli Collier, Jackie Young, and Kelsey Plum are just a handful of first overall draft picks that didn’t take home the ROY win in year one.

Take a Shot on Some Value

This year is a perfect example of where we should look at the best remaining value bet and take a stab at it. I’d also preface this WNBA Rookie of the Year betting strategy by saying I wouldn’t go crazy with it in years with (potential) generational talent.

Would I have bet on anyone other than Caitlin Clark this year? Probably not. She was a superstar coming out of Iowa, and the rest of the incoming draft class wasn’t that inspiring.

However, there are three cases where we should seek out some value; when the favorite is egregiously priced, when the favorite isn’t a dominant talent, and when the entire class as a whole is strong.

Going into this season, Clark was always the bet. Now that she’s priced out of consideration, we should be seeking value via Angel Reese (or someone else) or simply fading this betting market.

2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year Prediction

If you’re looking for a 2024 WNBA ROY winner, I’ll be the first to tell you it’s going to be Caitlin Clark. If we look at star power and production, it’s Clark and it’s not even remotely close.

Heck, Clark is even undefeated so far against her main competition – Angel Reese – so far in the regular season. She’s the more versatile and more explosive talent, too.

But betting on Clark at -3500 odds isn’t a good idea. You need to lay crazy money for that to be worth your time, and even then, it’d be a hard pass for me.

If you’re betting on this award, you should make your WNBA picks on someone else. As things stand, the easy call is Reese. She’s averaging a double-double, and lord knows her winning over Clark would send Twitter to the moon.

Put simply, Clark is your 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year