WNBA Best Bets for August 19: The Best Teams Are in Action Tonight
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Spread Astaire
- August 19, 2025
The WNBA season is in its home stretch and we have exciting nationally televised matchups featuring the league’s last two champions tonight. First, in a rematch of last year’s WNBA Finals, the Minnesota Lynx travel to take on the New York Liberty.
Last season, the New York Liberty defeated the Lynx in overtime in the deciding Game 5 of the series. That’s how close the Lynx were to a title. Now the Lynx are on top of the league and looking to climb the mountain and become WNBA champions. The Liberty have not been as dominant this season, but still retain the same core that led them to the title last year. This game will mean more than one game in the standings.
This is about bragging rights, confidence, and making a statement to a potential playoff foe. Then, the champion of the previous two seasons, the Las Vegas Aces, will host the Atlanta Dream. The Dream are currently in second place in the standings of the WNBA. When these top teams take the floor, who should you back at the betting odds to make winning WNBA picks?
Minnesota Lynx vs. New York Liberty
Tuesday, August 19, 2025 – 07:00 PM EDT at Barclays Center
Lynx Eye Third Straight Win Over Liberty
The Minnesota Lynx are in first place in the WNBA and are currently the hottest team in the league. The Lynx are 9-1 over their last 10 games and have won 6 straight games. In an odd scheduling quirk, this will be the Lynx’s third straight game against the New York Liberty.
The Lynx defeated the Liberty 83-71 in New York last Sunday. The Lynx had some time off and then retook the floor on Saturday night at home against the Liberty and won 86-80. Now they head back to New York.
The Liberty are not at full strength because they are missing two-time WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart. Stewart has missed 10 straight games for the Liberty . Right now, the Liberty expect Stewart to return to the lineup on August 25th, so she is not expected to play in tonight’s matchup.
The Liberty are not the only team who are missing an MVP caliber player. Napheesa Collier, the 28-year-old forward for the Minnesota Lynx who is averaging 23.5 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game and was in the lead for the WNBA MVP race is out with an injured ankle.
Collier has missed four straight games and is expected to return to the lineup on August 19th. So neither team is at full strength but the Lynx have been rolling without Collier in the lineup and can afford to rest their superstar until she is fully healthy.
Messeman Back in the WNBA Spotlight
Regardless of the star power on the sidelines this is still a marquee matchup for a fan of women’s basketball—and one that’s drawing plenty of attention from top sportsbooks. Both teams have excellent depth and are able to overcome the loss of their stars. The New York Liberty did add the hottest free agent last offseason when they signed Emma Messeman, the 2025 Euro League MVP who joined the team in early August.
The 32-year-old center has not played in the WNBA for three seasons. She has played in the WNBA in the past and spent eight seasons in Washington, and was on the 2019 Washington Mystics team that won the WNBA title.
Messeman skipped the 2021 season because of her participation in the Olympics, and she played for one season with the Chicago Sky in 2022. Messeman has been an outspoken critic of the WNBA’s policy towards international players and feels that their policies do not support International players looking to participate in the league.
However, Messeman has returned to the lineup and could be the difference the Liberty need to turn around this injury riddled season. She is still building chemistry with her teammates.
Messeman is not the only international player to arrive on the Liberty at midseason. The Australian Olympian Stephanie Talbot has also recently joined the team. The Liberty are chock full of talent but still need to integrate these players and do so quickly. Still, it must be nice to be a coach and have all these excellent options on your team.
Ride the Hot Hand
Tonight’s game gives us an opportunity to use one of my favorite concepts in gambling: never bet against the streak. A streak can only end once, but riding a streak can find you profiting five, six, seven, maybe even more times in a row. We will do that tonight and ride the hottest team in the league.
The New York Liberty are still acclimating their new acquisitions, and while they should be formidable in the playoffs, right now the Lynx are the best team in the league. Because of the stinging loss that they suffered last season in the WNBA Finals, the Lynx will not overlook this opponen,t regardless of the fact that they’ve won the last two games against them. Ride the streak, bet the Lynx.
Atlanta Dream vs. Las Vegas Aces
Tuesday, August 19, 2025 – 10:00 PM EDT at Michelob ULTRA Arena
Streaking Aces Look to Knock Off Red-Hot Dream
The Atlanta Dream are another team coming into tonight’s game riding an excellent streak of superb play. The Dream are 8-2 over the last 10 games, including a 79-63 win over the Golden State Valkyries in San Francisco on Sunday night. Now they face a team that is playing just as well, maybe even better.
The Las Vegas Aces are 9-1 over their last 10 and have won seven games in a row. The Aces are getting hot at the right time and A’ja Wilson is still one of the top players in the league averaging 22.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. This game means a lot to both teams as it gives an opportunity for two title contenders a chance to make a statement against another top team.
The Las Vegas Aces will have a slight rest advantage as they played at home on Sunday defeating the Dallas Wings 106-87. In that game, A’ja Wilson scored 34 points and the Aces converted 18 3-pointers.
This team is getting hot at the right time, and combined with their championship experience, they represent a tough out for anyone in the playoffs. The Aces are currently 1.5 games behind the Dream in the standings. A win tonight will be huge in the tight race for home court advantage in the first round.
Aces Heating Up
The Atlanta Dream are 12-7 on the road this season, and the Las Vegas Aces are 12-5 at home. The Dream have been more efficient this season with the point differential of +6.3 compared to the Las Vegas Aces point differential of zero. However, if you sort by the last 10 games the Las Vegas Aces have one of the best point differentials in the league.
While the Atlanta Dream have been playing well, the current form of the Las Vegas Aces combined with their superior level of experience should be the difference in this game. The Aces are getting hot at the right time, and the home court advantage could be the difference here. Regardless, I’ll take the best player on the floor and one of the best teams in the WNBA over the last three seasons. Give me the Las Vegas Aces.
*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.
