WNBA predictions, picks today: Best bets for Storm vs. Aces Game 3 on Thursday, Sept. 18

The Seattle Storm handed the Las Vegas Aces their first loss since Aug. 2 in dramatic fashion on Tuesday, rallying from a 12-point deficit with under seven minutes remaining to save their season and force a winner-take-all Game 3 in Las Vegas. Game 3 will tip off at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2, with the Aces currently positioned as 7.5-point favorites.

If you’re interested in WNBA betting and WNBA player props at the best betting sites for Thursday, Sept. 18, then make sure to see today’s WNBA best bets at FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook. If you’re new to betting on the WNBA, we’d recommend reading this WNBA betting guide.

Today’s WNBA picks:

Dominique Malonga Over 6.5 rebounds -122 (1 unit, FanDuel)Malonga 8+ rebounds +146 (0.5 units, FD)Malonga 10+ rebounds +360 (0.25 units, FD)Malonga 10+ points +100 (1 unit, FD)Malonga 15+ points +460 (0.25 units, FD)

Dominique Malonga rebounding props

We had Malonga Over 6.5 rebounds at +124 as one of our best bets for Tuesday’s Game 2, which she hit with a little over eight minutes left in the game before finishing with 10 rebounds. FanDuel has adjusted by making the Over -122 instead of +124, but I strongly think this prop should be higher than 6.5. 

Malonga has grabbed at least seven rebounds in 11 of her past 12 games where she’s played at least 17 minutes. In this series against the Aces, she had 11 rebounds in 24 minutes in Game 1 and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes in Game 2. She has also been a more impactful player than starting big Ezi Magbegor. Malonga checked in at 6:04 remaining in Game 2 with Seattle down 75-65 and was a key part in the comeback victory. Malonga secured the go-ahead 3-point play with 31 seconds left, and her 6-foot-6 height and 7-foot-1 wingspan helped keep MVP frontrunner A’ja Wilson scoreless in that final 6:04. 

Overall in this series, Malonga is +1 in plus/minus for this series, while Magbegor is -23. Yet, they both have played 47 minutes across Games 1 and 2. Storm head coach Noelle Quinn confoundingly did not give Malonga, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, meaningful minutes for the first half of the regular season. But if Quinn wants to potentially cool the temperature on her hot seat, she’s going to need to rely more on Malonga in Game 3 by giving her more minutes—and more minutes for Malonga means greater upside on her rebounding numbers. 

Dominique Malonga points props

If the sportsbooks don’t want to make bigger adjustments on Malonga’s props, we’re going to attack all of them. Just like with her rebounds, when Malonga is getting ample playing time, she’s been crushing this prop. In her last 12 games where she’s played at least 19 minutes, she’s scored at least 10 points in 10 of those contests. Malonga has played 24 and 23 minutes in the first two games of this series, so she will be playing at least 19 minutes in the most important game of the Storm’s season. 

Let’s say Quinn decides to reward Malonga with an extra minute or two and she ends up playing 25 minutes in Game 3. Here are Malonga’s point totals in her five games this season where she’s played at least 25 minutes: 17, 22, 20, 22 and 12. I do feel more confident in laddering Malonga’s rebound props, but I’ll add another rung to Malonga’s points ladder because I think +460 is too juicy to pass up given her upside for this game.