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Justin Carter's top daily fantasy WNBA lineup picks for 5/23/23. Expert WNBA DFS advice for DraftKings and FanDuel and today's best bets.
After an off-day yesterday, the WNBA returns Tuesday with a pair of games. Up first at 7:00 p.m. we get the second meeting already between the Sun and Mystics, while the second game features the Dream and Lynx, two teams in search of their first win of the season.
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 as well.
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 slates lock on 5/23/2023 at 7:00 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
Alyssa Thomas (Connecticut Sun) - @ WAS - DK: $12,000, FD: $9,400
How do you not just play Alyssa Thomas every game? In the team's first contest, Thomas scored 49.75 DraftKings points, finishing with 18 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, two blocks, and three steals. In her second game, she had 48.5 DraftKings points, scoring 14 points and adding 16 rebounds, six assists, and three steals.
Thomas is a force. Her role as the point forward for this time gives her a really high assist floor to go along with the fact that she's a walking double-double every time out there. Her tenacity on defense gives her a chance to post multiple steals and blocks every night as well. I have a feeling that it'll be rare for me to not recommend Thomas as the anchor for your lineup all season.
Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx) - vs ATL - DK: $8,400, FD: $7,200
Collier's pricing still hasn't caught up to her talent, though she's at least closer to what her price should be than she was for the opener, where she was at $6,700 on DraftKings and was the 21st-most expensive forward. (I promise to stop talking about this fact after today, but really—what was that pricing, DraftKings???)
The Lynx are rebuilding this year, and Collier is their best player by far. She looked a little rusty in the opener, going 5-for-14 from the floor, but I expect her to be more efficient going forward. She also added five rebounds, two assists, four blocks, and one steal in that one.
Minnesota just doesn't really have much else offensively. Kayla McBride will mostly just camp out behind the arc and Diamond Miller's a rookie, so things will likely be hit or miss there for a while. Collier's going to see the heaviest usage of her career this season.
Shakira Austin (Washington Mystics) - vs CON - DK: $8,100, FD: $5,900
Shakira Austin's second WNBA season started off slow, as she had just six points and three rebounds against the Liberty on Friday. But on Sunday, she looked more like the Austin we saw last season, scoring 21 points on 10-for-14 shooting with 11 rebounds, two assists, and one block.
Now, will the Austin we see this season usually look more like Game 1 Austin or Game 2 Austin? I'm willing to bet it's somewhere in the middle, but veering closer to the Game 2 version. I'm especially interested in her on this slate since she faces the Sun again, who we've already seen have trouble stopping the former Ole Miss star.
WNBA DFS Picks: Guard
Rhyne Howard (Atlanta Dream) - @ MIN - DK: $11,000, FD: $7,700
Last season's Rookie of the Year played 36 minutes in Atlanta's opening game. She struggled with her shot some, going 8-for-24 from the floor and 4-for-12 from deep. She also grabbed 10 rebounds while adding two assists and one block.
The Dream are a fascinating team this year. They should be a playoff team after adding Allisha Gray, but there are still a lot of questions about depth, which means Howard's going to be asked to do a lot for this team game after game after game. Maybe she won't take 24 shots every game, but she also won't shoot zero free throws every game like she did Saturday, so should even out to Howard consistently scoring around 20 points per game.
Rebecca Allen (Connecticut Sun) - @ WAS - DK: $5,800, FD: $4,200
(Guard on DK, Forward on FD)
Allen was used surprisingly little in her Sun debut, playing just 11 minutes against the Fever. We got what I think is a much better look at what'll be her usual workload in the team's second game against Washington, as Allen saw 24 minutes of action.
In those 24 minutes, she scored seven points on 2-for-7 shooting, with both makes coming from deep. She also added six rebounds and a block. Allen's a good three-and-D type player, and I expect her to give us threes, rebounds, and blocks every night.
AD Durr (listed as Asia Durr on DraftKings) (Atlanta Dream) - @ MIN - DK: $4,200, FD: $3,900
In their first game of the season, Durr played 18 minutes and made a pretty big impact, going 4-for-10 from the floor and 2-f0r-4 for three to finish with 12 points, one rebound, two assists, and one steal.
The Dream will be without Danielle Robinson for this one, leaving more available backcourt minutes. I'm not sure how much we see of Durr when the Dream are healthy, but they'll give them minutes on Tuesday. On Saturday, Durr was the top bench guard/wing once Robinson exited.
WNBA Bet of the Day
Every day, I'll provide my favorite bet. I'll be using DraftKings Sportsbook for the odds.
Season Record: 0-1
Atlanta Dream +2
The Dream might have lost their opener, but I'm willing to say they're a better team than the Lynx this season. And while Minnesota is at home for this one, I don't think that ends up mattering. Minnesota's got major question marks at point guard and is giving big minutes to a rookie, while Atlanta has a more complete team, minus some concerns about power forward.
