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Justin Carter's top daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for 6/18/23. Expert WNBA DFS advice for DraftKings.
Bit of a weird situation today. The main slates on DraftKings and FanDuel differ, with DraftKings not including the Mercury/Liberty game since it tips off three hours before any other game. That left me a little dilemma here, and the option I'm going with is to play to my strengths -- I play DraftKings at a higher volume than FanDuel, so that's the slate I'll be writing about. Still, this advice should be useful over on FanDuel as well.
If you're looking for WNBA daily fantasy picks and some betting advice this season, then you're in the right place. I'll be here providing picks for any slate with two or more games, as well as adding a little betting advice.
In this article, I'll be providing you with some daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for DraftKings. These lineup picks will range from elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. The slates lock on 6/18/2023 at 3:00 p.m. ET. Want to talk more about the WNBA? I'm always available on Twitter and always down to discuss women's basketball: @juscarts.
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WNBA DFS Picks: Forward
Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx) - @ LV - DK: $12,000
On Friday, I said to play Collier because Jessica Shepard was out. If you did that, you were rewarded with 40.0 DraftKings points. Collier played 38 minutes, going 9-for-13 from the floor for 25 points and adding six rebounds, one assist, two blocks, and one steal.
I was a little disappointed she had just one assist because I thought she'd take on some playmaking duties. But no starter had more than three assists, with Rachel Banham coming off the bench to lead the team with six of them. I think Collier's performance on Sunday ends up looking about like it did on Friday. But with a little more assist upside and maybe a little more volatility when it comes to scoring since the matchup is tougher.
A'ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces) - vs. MIN - DK: $11,000
Last year's MVP is basically on pace to post the same numbers she did last season, averaging the same number of points per game, 19.5, as she did in 2022. Her rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks are all really close to last season's marks.
But it feels like we haven't talked enough about Wilson. Maybe it's just that there were so many changes around the league that we've focused more on those things. Maybe it's that her teammate Jackie Young taking a leap this way has deflected attention away.
Wilson remains a top-two player in this league. She's had back-to-back double-doubles and faces a Lynx team that's without one of its best interior defenders, Jessica Shepard. Should be a good game from Wilson.
Li Meng (Washington Mystics) - vs. CHI - DK: $4,100
The Mystics moved Meng into the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Mercury and she responded with a strong stat line, scoring 14 points on 5-for-12 shooting during her 27 minutes of action. She also pulled down two rebounds, though she didn't add a lot aside from scoring.
And honestly, she probably won't. Meng's role is basically just to shoot threes, which is why she drained four of them on Friday. There will be rebounds and assists sprinkled in, but you're mostly just looking for the value here of a player who costs $4,100 but can score in double figures.
WNBA DFS Picks: Guard
Marina Mabrey (Chicago Sky ) - @ WAS - DK: $9,900
The former Dallas Wings guard has torn up the basketball court in her first year for the Chicago Sky, averaging a career-high 18.1 points per game. That is a pretty big jump from her previous best mark, the 13.6 per game she averaged last season.
She's coming off her best game of the year on Thursday. She went 14-for-22 from the floor in a loss to the Fever, scoring 36 points while also adding six rebounds and two assists.
Courtney Williams has struggled lately, leading this offense to be geared more and more toward Mabrey. The volume we saw out of her last game shows that she has one of the highest DFS ceilings in the league. She's worth paying up for because of the upside.
Haley Jones (Atlanta Dream) - @ IND - DK: $7,300
Jones has now started three games for the Dream because of the injury to Aari McDonald. And while she was quiet in that first start, she's scored in double figures in the other two. Jones showcased her passing skills last time out against the Sun, dishing out nine assists while also adding 10 points and four rebounds.
With Jones, you're guaranteed heavy minutes, and the last game suggests that the Dream are finally viewing her as the point guard. This means she'll get plenty of assist opportunities with players like Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray on the floor. I'm still worried about her three-point shot because she struggled from there in college, but she's currently shooting 40% from deep on 1.1 attempts per game. That's encouraging, too.
Karlie Samuelson (Los Angeles Sparks) - vs. CON - DK: $5,800
The Sparks continue to deal with injuries, as Lexie Brown and Layshia Clarendon are out of this game. The recent addition of Destanni Henderson adds some point guard talent to the roster, but I don't think she'll immediately be playing heavy minutes. Meanwhile, Jasmine Thomas is still being eased in, playing a season-high 19 minutes last game as she works back from a torn ACL.
All that is to say that Karlie Samuelson's current role could see a dip soon, but I don't think it's as soon as Sunday. She's played at least 20 minutes in three straight games. While the scoring hasn't necessarily been there, I think if she can stay out of foul trouble -- that hurt her minutes against Minnesota last game as she fouled out -- then there are opportunities for her to knock down some shots.
You could also shift to $3,600 Zia Cooke, who played 25 minutes for the Sparks last game and would open up some extra salary to use. But her minutes have been a lot less consistent than Samuelson's, even if she saw a jump last game.
