Tuesday brings a four-game WNBA slate to DraftKings, giving us enough options to build around without spreading the player pool too thin. There are clear starting points at the top, but lineup decisions should get more interesting as we move down the salary ladder.
Below, we’ll break down our WNBA DraftKings core plays for Tuesday, August 18, along with tournament pivots worth considering for GPP lineups. Let’s build!
WNBA DFS Core Plays for Tuesday
- A’ja Wilson ($12.5k)
- Breanna Stewart ($10.6k)
- Kiki Rice ($6k)
A’ja Wilson is our top projecting stud per our WNBA DFS lineup builder tool. Shocking, I’m sure. But she simply does project the best and also offers the highest ceiling. She’s the most expensive player tonight, but Caitlin Clark is only $500 cheaper. CC is running hot and is also a fantastic play, but her game’s dicey spread makes Wilson a more comfortable spend.
Breanna Stewart stands out as a value up top. Clark and Angel Reese project better, but I’d be willing to bet on the Over in regards to Stewart’s fantasy projection right now. Her matchup and game setting both look good, and we know she can drop MVP-level stat lines when she’s cooking. Right now she’s in our optimal lineup and I think she’s simply too cheap to fade.
Kiki Rice is probably the best play on the board. Toronto is still hurting with injuries and Rice projects very well for the salary. The blowout risk for her game is obviously not ideal, but the minutes and fantasy points projection are too good to bypass on this slate.
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WNBA Fantasy Picks for GPPs (8/18)
- Angel Reese ($11.3k)
- Marina Mabrey ($9.4k)
- Jackie Young ($9.7k)
- Aliyah Boston ($10.8k)
If we go just off our lineup tool I’d think Reese and Mabrey will be popular. They both own top-5 fantasy projections, while Mabrey gets the best game setting in terms of total, and Reese is in a game that should be competitive. Both look great, but they also may not be super owned. If true, they make for excellent GPP pay ups, with a clear lean into the much cheaper Mabrey.
Jackie Young is never easy to project, but she sure can cook. Her game is expected to be close, and with everyone focused on Wilson and/or Clark, I have to assume she won’t be overly popular. If I’m right, she could be amazing leverage at her sub-$10k price.
Boston is a similar play, but she’s leverage on what will likely be a popular Clark. She’s always solid tourney leverage against her Fever teammates, but her steep $10.8k salary ensures that on this slate.
Tuesday’s WNBA DFS Value Picks
- Kia Nurse ($4k)
- Rebecca Allen ($5.4k)
- Rebekah Gardner ($4.3k)
- Madina Okot ($4.5k)
Toronto is a 10.5-point dog against the Fever. If you want to lean hard into the blowout angle, Nurse is a viable punt. There are enough missing Tempo players to give her a spin anyways, but if the game gets out of hand she could push for 20 minutes.
Allen and Gardner are minutes and price plays, as New York still won’t have Leonie Fiebich on hand. I favor Gardner due to price, but Allen is the safer option that will play more if the game is competitive.
Okot is probably my favorite value play outside of Rice on this slate. She’s risky, but she could get 15+ minutes with Brionna Jones still out.
In general, keep an eye on the injury report. There are four games and a ton of names already listed as probable or questionable. I’d be focused on Toronto the most for saving cash in the low mid-range, but the Sparks and Sun could easily end up being another source of value, depending on what news comes out.
Need more help with WNBA? Refer to our WNBA DFS guide for extra strategy and tips.
Noah Simpson is a New England-based DFS writer who has spent the better part of a decade obsessing over MLB DFS. He got his start playing DFS recreationally before realizing he was spending more time building spreadsheets than actually watching games, and decided to make it official. At DFSBuild, Noah covers MLB DFS strategy with a focus on finding edges that casual players overlook. When he’s not staring at Statcast data, he’s somewhere on a hiking trail in Maine with his two dogs, Sandboy and Johnner, who are undefeated at ignoring his lineup advice, because they are dogs. They don’t have the cognitive or motor skills required to operate a computer, let alone process complex theories and information.
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