There are 11 times more WNBA MVP bets on Caitlin Clark than any other player


The Caitlin Clark phenomenon affected many parts of the sports world, including the betting markets.

When Clark starred for Iowa, the prop bets on Hawkeyes games had an absurd majority for the overs on Clark. Bettors loved that Iowa won the NCAA championship, which almost happened. Practically speaking, if gamblers could get Clark to do something good, they hit a ticket.

Clark is now in the WNBA, but gambling support for her has not waned.

Clark, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft for the Indiana Fever, has drawn the most bets to win the league’s MVP. And just like those bets on her and Iowa a few months ago, there’s a ridiculous split for Clark to win the league’s top individual honor.

At BetMGM, 74.5% of the money bet on WNBA MVP is on Clark. As for the number of WNBA MVP bets, 68.1% of them are on Clark. A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces, two-time MVP, gets the most bets behind Clark… at 6%.

That means there are more than 11 times more bets on Clark than any other player to win MVP.

While Clark is one of the hottest names in the sport, she is not the favorite to win MVP. Her opening odds were 12 to 1 and they have been reduced to 10 to 1. Wilson is the favorite at +110; Last season’s MVP, Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty, is second at +600. Clark has the third shortest odds.

Clark’s odds should probably be longer, but oddsmakers know bettors will want to bet on Clark anyway.

 

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Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark is getting a lot of WNBA MVP bets. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Clark was a dynamic player in college, but it’s rare for even the best rookies to win MVP.

Candace Parker did it in the WNBA in 2008. Jim Brown was the NFL’s only rookie MVP, in 1957. Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld did it in the NBA, Fred Lynn and Ichiro Suzuki are MLB’s only rookie MVPs and, since 1930, the only rookie Wayne Gretzky won the NHL’s Hart Trophy for his MVP. And to shorten that list a bit, Suzuki and Gretzky had played in other professional sports leagues before debuting in the MLB and NHL, respectively.

That’s a small list for the major sports. Clark has the talent to be part of the MVP discussion as a newcomer and she won’t lack media attention, but it’s still notable that Clark has the third-lowest odds for MVP and almost three-quarters of the money on her own has.

It’s also telling that 45.8% of all WNBA Championship bets at BetMGM are on the Fever, who went 13-27 last season. Gamblers love Clark. Indiana is 20-to-1 to win the championship.

Reasonably, Clark is the heavy favorite to win WNBA Rookie of the Year. She is -750 to win that prize. No other player has odds of less than 30 to 1.