WNBA DFS picks for Friday, July 2

We’re into our second month of the WNBA season, and the DFS action has been a blast so far. It’s been fun to see old faces around the WNBA contests, and even more exciting to see new names popping up each week in the FTN WNBA Discord channel. Congrats to our friend Tyrik (DontEmbiidMyStatus in the Discord) for another WNBA takedown Sunday and to Shawn for his bink Tuesday. Let’s keep it rolling.

Throughout the season this article will provide you some building blocks for the slate with analysis on the importance of each player relative to both DraftKings and FanDuel. We’ll project starting lineups, which can be tougher to come by in the WNBA, and also list out the rest of our player pools for the day’s games. 

Some players will be on and off of their team’s “suspended list” due to Olympic qualifying or competition. This article will also keep you updated on who is absent and alert you as those players filter back to their active rosters throughout the rest of the season. Let’s get started. 

WNBA picks for today

Make sure you read through the MME pools below for a list of all players I would consider rostering and don’t hesitate to ping me in the WNBA Discord leading up to lock with questions.

Brenna Stewart ($12,400 DK, $9,500 FD)

Stewart is at her highest price of the season on both sites, but as usual she’s bringing the highest floor of any player on the slate. There’s enough value to get her into lineups, especially if you’re running more than one. I would make sure I get shares. Normally we would be wary of the 15.5 point spread but with the Vegas-LA game also projected to blowout, Stewart has more safety than either of the Wilson/Cambage frontcourt for the Aces. If this game stays close, you’ll likely need her to take down a tournament.

Candace Parker ($9,900 DK, $7,900 FD)

I’m going right back to the CP well. She was high owned Wednesday against this same Dallas team and didn’t have the explosive game we hoped for. My thoughts on her haven’t changed (neither has her low DK price) and I think she comes in lower owned tonight. Parker is still averaging 1.24 DK points per minute on the season and if this game stays closer (currently CHI by 2.5) I expect her to get closer to 30 minutes of run.

Chennedy Carter ($8,200 DK, $6,500 FD)

Tiffany Hayes remains out for the Dream and Carter has been ramped back up to full minutes coming off her own injury. She shot poorly Tuesday, but the minutes and shot volume were there. We’ve also seen lately that she’ll get blowout run if this game gets out of hand (currently ATL +15.5) and it puts her firmly above the pricey Courtney Williams and the minutes uncertainty of Odyssey Sims. I prefer Carter at her DK price and although she’s in play I will likely look elsewhere at guard on FD.

Te’a Cooper ($7,600 DK, $5,700 FD)

With two of the three games on the slate projected to be blowouts, my main focus is finding the safest minutes plays from these big underdogs to round out our lineups. Cooper is my favorite way to target the Sparks in this one after her teammate Amanda Zahui B paid off big time for us Wednesday and got an appropriate price hike. Cooper on the other hand was very solid for her price, and more importantly led the Sparks with a 32% usage rate in her 25 minutes. She’s averaged 27.5 minutes and 30.8 DK points over her last three outings and she’s too cheap, especially on DK, for me to pass up. 

Crystal Bradford ($6,300 DK, $4,200 FD)

I wrote up Bradford two weeks ago on a value-starved slate and she ended up busting hard. With Tiffany Hayes out, we’ve seen her minutes stabilize. Bradford is not a household name in the WNBA. She was a high draft pick in 2015 and decided to spend the majority of her career overseas. In her return this year she’s been one of the more productive guards from a fantasy standpoint, averaging 1.21 DK points per minute. With her minutes seemingly solidified in the upper teens lately, she will be a staple of my MME builds on both sites. 

WNBA injury report

Sky @ Wings

Both teams full strength

Dream @ Storm

OUT – Tiffany Hayes

Aces @ Sparks

OUT – Nneka Ogwumike, Chiney Ogwumike, Kristi Tolliver

WNBA MME player pool

(In order of salary, not preference)

Guards: Courtney Vandersloot, Courtney Williams, Arike Ogunbowale, Jewell Loyd, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, Chennedy Carter, Jackie Young, Brittany Sykes, Kahleah Copper, Te’a Cooper, Odyssey Sims, Alisha Gray, Diamond DeShields, Marina Mabrey, Crystal Bradford, Allie Quigley

Forwards: Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson, Liz Cambage, Candace Parker, Amanda Zahui B (FD), Satou Sabally, Cheyenne Parker (FD), Dearica Hamby, Isabelle Harrison, Monique Billings, Azura Stevens, Lauren Cox, Ji-Su Park

Projected starters

Sky: Courtney Vandersloot, Diamond DeShields, Kahleah Copper, Candace Parker, Stephanie Dolson
Wings: Arike Ogunbowale, Moriah Jefferson, Satou Sabally, Kayla Thornton, Charli Collier

Dream: Odyssey Sims, Courtney Williams, Chennedy Carter, Elizabeth Williams, Cheyenne Parker
Storm: Sue Bird, Jewell Loyd, Katie Lou Samuelson, Breanna Stewart, Mercedes Russell

Aces: Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, Riquna Williams, A’ja Wilson, Liz Cambage
Sparks: Erica Wheeler, Brittany Sykes, Te’a Cooper, Nia Coffey, Amanda Zahui B.