Sparks vs. Liberty Best Bets for July 26: Fading the Champs
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Jason Lake
- July 26, 2025
You know it’s pretty much a given that we’re going to fade the New York Liberty (17-6 SU, 11-11-1 ATS) any chance we get. They are the defending WNBA champions, after all. But some opponents are better to follow than others.
Our most recent crack at this was July 16 when the Indiana Fever showed up at Barclays Center, and while the Fever had some contrarian betting value with Caitlin Clark on the shelf, there were enough issues with this matchup to warrant a smaller bet size for your WNBA picks. Just as well, as the Liberty cruised to a 98-77 victory as 9-point home favorites.
The Los Angeles Sparks (10-14 SU, 10-13-1 ATS) require some caution as well. They were a promising follow candidate earlier this year, and the Sparks appear to have indeed turned the corner at 5-1 SU and 4-2 ATS in their past six. But there are some complications for Saturday’s contest, even if Los Angeles is getting a generous 12.5 points on the opening WNBA lines at Bookmaker.
Los Angeles Sparks vs. New York Liberty
Saturday, July 26, 2025 – 7:00 PM EDT at Barclays Center
Will Cameron Brink Play for L.A.?
We’re not sure. Brink hasn’t suited up since she tore her ACL last June, but she was upgraded from “out” to “questionable” for Thursday’s game against the Connecticut Sun. The Sparks kept Brink on ice and won 101-86 as 6-point road faves; her availability this Saturday remains a mystery as we go to press, but we’ve just received word that Brink has been listed as “doubtful.”
Two weeks ago, coach Lynne Roberts said she was hoping to get Brink back in uniform by the end of July, which would give the Sparks enough time to make a viable playoff run.
Los Angeles desperately needs her on defense; the former Stanford Cardinal standout led Division I with 3.7 blocks per game in 2023-24, and this year’s Sparks are giving up the third-highest effective Field Goal percentage (eFG%) in the WNBA at 51.5%.
Will Emma Meesseman Play for New York?
Yet another mystery waiting to be solved. Not content to rest on their laurels, the Liberty plan on signing the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP to a free-agent deal, bringing Meeseeman back from Europe for the first time since 2022. However, the Belgian native wasn’t cleared in time for Friday’s 89-76 win over the Phoenix Mercury (+6 away), and it could be weeks or even months – probably the former in this case – before Meeseeman gets her visa.
While the Liberty dream of adding the 6-foot-4 Meeseeman to their lineup, it looks like they’ll be without 6-foot-5 center Nyara Sabally for a while longer.
Head coach Sandy Brondello told reporters before Friday’s game that she didn’t expect Sabally to suit up on Saturday, leaving New York’s frontcourt somewhat thin behind 6-foot-6 center Jonquel Jones, who just recently returned to the starting lineup after sitting out a month with a sprained right ankle.
The Pick
Most online sportsbooks were taking their sweet time before putting this matchup on Saturday’s WNBA odds board. The first lines started popping up when Brink was listed as doubtful; maybe the books also wanted to see if any key Liberty players got hurt Friday before posting their lines. This is a punishing league, and New York will be playing on zero days of rest, albeit still at home in Brooklyn.
Here at the ranch, we were itching to recommend the Under when it looked like Brink might make her 2025 debut Saturday night. Now that she’s listed as doubtful, we’ll settle for the rested Sparks at +12.5 for a suitably small wager. Bet accordingly.
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
