Minnesota Lynx vs Golden State Valkyries Prediction 9/17/2025 Today’s WNBA Picks

The Minnesota Lynx and the Golden State Valkyries meet Wednesday in WNBA First Round playoff action from the Chase Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Minnesota Lynx vs. Golden State Valkyries prediction.

Game One Recap

The Minnesota Lynx won game one and defended home court with a 101-72 blowout win over the Valkyries in Golden State’s playoff debut. Napheesa Collier led the way with 20 points on 7 of 11 shooting while Natisha Hiedeman had 18 points and 4 assists. Kayla McBride chipped in 17 points with 3 threes, while Jessica Shepard chipped in 12 points with a team-high 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Courtney Williams added 11 points with 4 assists and 4 steals to cap off Minnesota’s scoring in double figures. For Golden State, Cecelia Zandalasini and Veronica Burton each had a team-high 14 points with Burton adding a team-high 7 assists and 3 steals. Janelle Salaun added 13 points with 6 rebounds while Temi Fagbenle added 12 points and Kate Martin added 11 points to round out Golden State’s scoring in double figures in the loss.

Minnesota Lynx Team Stats

Napheesa Collier leads the Lynx in scoring with 23.4 PPG along with 7.7 RPG and 3.3 APG while Courtney Williams has added 13.9 PPG with 4.9 RPG and a team-high 6.3 APG to lead the Lynx in the assist department. Kayla McBride’s logged 15.1 PPG and 3.5 APG to round out the group of double-digit scorers for Minnesota up to this point in the season. Alanna Smith’s added 9.9 PPG with 5.3 RPG and 2.8 APG and Natisha Hiedeman has 7.8 PPG with 2.6 APG so far this season. As a team, Minnesota is averaging 86.7 PPG on 47.2% shooting from the field, 37.9% from three and 76.5% from the foul line this season.

Golden State Valkyries Team Stats

Kayla Thornton leads the Valkyries in scoring and rebounding with 14 PPG and 7 RPG along with 1.3 SPG, but is missing the rest of the season because of an injury while Veronica Burton has 12 PPG with 4.3 RPG and a team-high 5.8 APG to lead the Valkyries in the assist department. Tiffany Hayes has 11.7 PPG with 3.8 RPG and Janelle Salaun has 10.8 PPG with 4.8 RPG. Cecelia Zandalasini has 11.2 PPG to cap off the scoring in double figures for Golden State so far this season. Iliana Rupert has 9.6 PPG with 3.5 RPG and Temi Fagbenle has 7.1 PPG with 5 RPG while Monique Billings has 7.5 PPG with 4.7 RPG as well this season. As a team, Golden State is averaging 78.8 PPG on 41.1% shooting from the field, 33.2% from three and 81.8% from the foul line this season.

Minnesota Lynx @ Golden State Valkyries Betting Trends: September 17, 2025

Why the Golden State Valkyries will win

• The home team has won seven of the Valkyries’ last eight games.
• The Lynx have lost three of their last four games as road favorites following a home win.
• The Lynx have failed to cover the spread in each of their last six road games against teams that held a winning record.
• The home team has covered the spread in five of the Lynx’s last six games.

Why the Minnesota Lynx will win

• The Valkyries have lost each of their last 10 games against Western Conference opponents that held a winning record.
• The Lynx have won each of their last six playoff games as road favorites.
• The Valkyries have failed to cover the spread in nine of their last 10 games against Western Conference opponents that held a winning record.
• The Lynx have covered the spread in each of their last five playoff games as road favorites.

Total Points Facts

• Each of the Lynx’s last six games as favorites following a home win have gone OVER the total points line.
• Twelve of the Valkyries’ last 14 night games against Western Conference opponents have gone UNDER the total points line.

Golden State Valkyries Player Facts

• Veronica Burton leads all Golden State Valkyries players for assists per 36 minutes (7.4) this season.
• Kaila Charles leads all Golden State Valkyries players for steals per 36 minutes (1.6) this season.

Minnesota Lynx Player Facts

• Napheesa Collier ranks 1st amongst qualified Forwards for points per game (22.9) this season.
• Courtney Williams ranks 1st amongst qualified Guards for assists per game (6.2) this season.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Golden State Valkyries rank 1st for opponent points per game this season (76.3).
• The Golden State Valkyries rank 12th for assists per game this season (18.5).
• The Minnesota Lynx rank 1st for points per game this season (86.1).
• The Minnesota Lynx rank 1st for point differential per game this season (+9.4).

Minnesota Lynx vs. Golden State Valkyries Prediction

I’m on the Valkyries and the points here. I get the case to be made for the Lynx here and it wouldn’t shock me in the slightest if Minnesota got the job done here. However, season on the line in one of the most, if not the most, electric home environments in the WNBA, I think Golden State can at least compete here. Give me Golden State and the points here.