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Justin Carter's top daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for 5/17/24. Expert WNBA DFS advice for DraftKings and FanDuel.
Every WNBA team has now played at least one game, so we're starting to get some data on how to make sense of the 2024 season. One thing we've seen so far is that the Indiana Fever are struggling, with the team sitting at 0-2 after last night's blowout loss to the New York Liberty.
Tonight we've got a two-game slate. The Mystics and Sun collide in Connecticut to open the night, while the Storm and Lynx face off in the second game. I'm especially interested in the latter since those two teams played on Tuesday and the Lynx pulled out a surprising win.
In this article, I'll be providing you with some daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel. These lineup picks will range from elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. The slate locks on Friday, May 17, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. EDT. Want to talk more about the WNBA? I'm always available on X and always down to discuss women's basketball: @juscarts.
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WNBA DFS Picks: Forward
Alyssa Thomas (Connecticut Sun) vs. WAS (DK: $11.3K, FD: $8.3K)
The greatest triple-double threat that the WNBA has ever seen was at it again in the opener, scoring 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds and 13 assists. She added three steals as well.
It looks like the Sun might wind up even more reliant on Thomas in 2024, but if there's any player in the league up for that task, it's AT. She's a hard-nosed player who isn't afraid of anything on the basketball court. Last season, Thomas finished second in MVP voting after averaging 13.0 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 7.9 assists per game. Can she better those marks in 2024?
Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx) vs. SEA (DK: $11.0K, FD: $8.1K)
Napheesa Collier has quietly turned into a top-five player in the WNBA. Last season, the Minnesota Lynx star finished fourth in the MVP voting and was First Team All-WNBA for the first time after averaging 21.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
Collier got her 2024 season off to a strong start on Tuesday against Seattle, going 9-of-19 from the floor for 20 points to go along with 12 rebounds and a pair of blocks. She didn't lead the team in scoring as that was surprisingly Alanna Smith, but Collier's a near lock to be the overall scoring leader for Minnesota this season, as well as the likely rebound leader. I'd also expect the assist numbers to go up as the new pieces on this team start to figure each other out.
Stefanie Dolson (Washington Mystics) at CON (DK: $5.1K, FD: $3.9K)
With Elena Delle Donne sitting out the season, there were a lot of questions about what the Mystics would do in the frontcourt. Shakira Austin starting there was a given, but what would the team do beside her with EDD gone?
Interesting from the Washington Mystics (@WashMystics)
They look to go with Chicago action (Sykes downscreen + Austin DHO) for Karlie Samuelson but Kira hits Sykes.
Brittney gets baseline against an off-balance Betnijah.
Jonquel has to help and Stef Dolson cashes the triple. pic.twitter.com/r9FkxVdIW8
— Evin Gualberto (@evin_gual) May 14, 2024
The answer was kind of a surprise, though I guess it shouldn't have been. Stefanie Dolson, who joined the team in free agency from the Liberty, played 27 minutes, scoring 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting and 2-of-6 shooting from deep. She also added five rebounds and two assists. Dolson isn't the quickest big, but she has the size to grab boards and the shooting touch to drift out beyond the arc on offense. That versatility should keep getting her minutes.
WNBA DFS Picks: Guard
Brittney Sykes (Washington Mystics) at CON (DK: $9.9K, FD: $7.2K)
Brittney Sykes was on triple-double watch all game on Tuesday. It didn't wind up happening, but Sykes ended up with a really strong stat line as she scored 14 points on 7-of-17 shooting with 10 rebounds and seven assists. She also added two steals. And those numbers could have been better, as she went 0-of-5 from three in the 85-80 loss to New York.
With Delle Donne sitting out, Sykes is Washington's best player. After finding success with the Sparks, Sykes moved to the Mystics in 2023 and took a major leap, averaging career-high marks in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. She was third in the Defensive Player of the Year voting. Sykes combines an expert ability to drive to the basket with some high-quality passing and some of the best defensive hands in the league.
Skylar Diggins-Smith (Seattle Storm) at MIN (DK: $7.0K, FD: $7.1K)
The DraftKings salary for Skylar Diggins-Smith isn't as egregiously bad as it was for the opener when the site had her at just $4.7K for some reason, but there's still some major value potential for her as she's risen to just $7.0K on DK for Friday's slate.
It's not that Diggins-Smith was great in the opener. It was a rather pedestrian night for her, as she had just 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting while adding six assists and two steals. She was third behind Jewell Loyd and Nneka Ogwumike in field-goal attempts.
But with SDS sitting just eighth among guards in DraftKings pricing, you have to have exposure. You can argue that the only guard on this slate with more upside is Seattle teammate Jewell Loyd.
(On FanDuel, I think Jordan Horston is a solid play at $4.5K since SDS is the third-most expensive guard over there. I don't think I trust Diggins-Smith at that salary yet.)
Tyasha Harris (Connecticut Sun) vs. WAS (DK: $5.7K, FD: $3.8K)
The Sun backcourt went through some changes in the offseason as Natisha Hiedeman moved to Minnesota and Tiffany Hayes retired. That's opened some minutes for Tyasha Harris, who averaged just 16.7 minutes per game in 2023. She shot 46.4% from deep last year, so there was plenty of hope that if she could keep that efficiency while scaling up her minutes, she'd be a great option to start at point guard for Connecticut.
That’s THREE first-quarter three-pointers for Tyasha Harris pic.twitter.com/Qv6sOw03MG
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzellNBA) May 14, 2024
One game in, it looks like that thinking was right. Harris was unguardable in Tuesday's win over Indiana, going 4-of-6 from three and 6-of-11 overall. She finished with 16 points, two assists, and one steal. It looks like she's going to get a ton of open catch-and-shoot looks in her role with the Sun.
