The 2024 WNBA season will tip off tonight and the opening slate will feature the Indiana Fever visiting the Connecticut Sun at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
This opener will mark the official WNBA debut of Fever guard Caitlin Clark, who was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in last month’s WNBA Draft. The incoming rookie phenom became a household name during her four-year college career at Iowa, leading the Hawkeyes to back-to-back appearances in the national championship game while becoming the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader. She will now try to help revitalize a Fever organization that has not made the postseason since 2016. Indiana’s roster already has several key returning pieces like Kelsey Mitchell, NaLyssa Smith, Erica Wheeler, and Aliyah Boston, last year’s No. 1 overall pick who’d go on to win WNBA Rookie of the Year.
Connecticut enters the new season with hopes of once again being in the WNBA championship conversation. Last year’s squad posted a 27-13 record in the regular season to earn the No. 3 seed of the playoffs, eventually falling to the New York Liberty in the semifinals. The dynamic veteran trio of DeWanna Bonner, Brionna Jones, and Alyssa Thomas have returned to the roster and the team made a nice offseason acquisition from the Phoenix Mercury when trading for guard Moriah Jefferson.
On the injury front, Kelsey Mitchell (ankle) is considered doubtful for the Fever in the opener. Meanwhile, Moriah Jefferson (ankle) is listed as questionable.
Connecticut enters the game as a 6-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook, accompanied by a total of 168.5. The Sun are listed as a -230 moneyline favorite, making the Fever a +190 underdog.
Fever vs. Sun, 7:30 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Sun -6
All eyes will be on this matchup for Caitlin Clark’s debut and the home team will be up for spoiling the party. It will most likely take some weeks for Indiana’s new look lineup to gel and the potential absence of Kelsey Mitchell would be a huge blow for this opener. Meanwhile, Connecticut is the more experienced team and is likely to pick right up from where it left off last season. Along with that, the team was 30-17 against the spread last summer, so give me the Sun to cover this evening.
Over/Under: Over 168.5
These were two over-friendly teams just a year ago and the Fever in particular should get a major boost on offense with the addition of Caitlin Clark. This could be a really fun matchup right out the gate, so I’ll predict the over cashing here.