Los Angeles Sparks WNBA Title Odds: 2023 Preseason Betting Analysis & Preview

Los Angeles Sparks WNBA Title Odds

The Los Angeles Sparks had a rough season that was derailed by internal struggles within their locker room. The Sparks are coming off consecutive seasons without making the WNBA Playoffs for the first time since 1998.

They enter the 2023 season with the second-longest title odds at +6000. Here's a look at their notable moves in the offseason and analysis on how to approach betting the Sparks before the WNBA season tips off.

Notable Offseason Transactions

Additions: Dearica Hamby, Azura Stevens, Jasmine Thomas, Layshia Clarendon, Katie Lou Samuelson, Zia Cooke (No. 10 pick), Shaniece Swain (No. 14 pick), Monika Czinano (No. 26 pick).

Betting Analysis

The Sparks may have the second-longest odds to win the WNBA title, but I don't see them as having the second-worst roster in the WNBA.

The Sparks may have finished second from the bottom in the standings last season, but there's nary a familiar face in L.A. this season. That starts at the top, where the Sparks hired Karen Bryant as General Manager and promoted Eli Horowitz to Assistant GM this offseason. They also brought in Curt Miller to coach the team, bringing with him one of the more impressive resumes in the league.

The roster is basically entirely new as well. Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike are back as the heart and soul of the team, but the list of names the franchise brought in this offseason is nearly endless: Dearica Hamby, Azura Stevens, Jasmine Thomas, Layshia Clarendon, Zia Cooke, and on and on.

My betting approach to this team is going to be somewhat simple: I think they are going to take a little time to gel, but I have full faith in Miller, as well as the actual talent on the roster to come together by the end of the season. I am already thinking about playing them a lot in the second half of the season and even as a potential pesky first-round upset team. I project the Sparks at 18-22 but weighted to the second half of the season.