WNBA Skills Challenge Picks: Put Your Money on Mabrey

While the 3-Point Contest picks and the All-Star Game itself are the bells of the ball during WNBA All-Star Weekend, the WNBA Skills Challenge is one for the true basketball sickos.

This year they’ve done away with the team format of the previous season and instead, Brittney Griner, Sophie Cunningham, Erica Wheeler, Marina Mabrey, and Allisha Gray will face off to be crowned the most skilled player in the W on Friday night.

The Skills Challenge might be kind of silly (read: it definitely is), but there are still some compelling angles for bettors to consider. I take you through the ins and outs of the format, the WNBA odds, favorites, and my personal WNBA picks for a winner below.

WNBA Skills Challenge odds

Player	Team
Erica Wheeler	Indiana Fever	+300
Marina Mabrey	Connecticut Sun	+330
Sophie Cunningham	Phoenix Mercury	+330
Allisha Gray	Atlanta Dream	+360
Brittney Griner	New York Liberty	+360

Odds as of 7-18-2024.

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Skills Challenge participants    

Erica Wheeler (+300)

While anticipation was high for a certain Indiana Fever guard to take some role in the All-Star Weekend festivities, former 2019 All-Star Game MVP Erica Wheeler will be the one stepping up instead.

She's arguably the best ball-handler in the field. She’s smooth changing directions, going around the back against ball pressure, and generally just gets where she wants to go on the court. What’s holding her back from being a more dominant favorite is her shooting. 

Wheeler is a pedestrian 32.7% career shooter from outside, but that’s plummeted to a career-worst 23.5% this season.

Marina Mabrey (+330)

Marina Mabrey seems like a strong bet for this contest. 

She’s a smooth ball handler and has one of the more diverse jump shots in the field. Mabrey’s on-ball craft and overall utility should see her perform well against a field that is mostly specialists of one kind or another.

Sophie Cunningham (+330)

Sophie Cunningham is the best shooter entering the Skills Challenge. Her role with the Phoenix Mercury is to space the floor, shoot open shots, and drive and attack closeouts. 

That seems tailormade to translate at least somewhat well to the skills challenge, but she’s never exactly been known as an elite dribbler at the same time.

Allisha Gray (+360)

Along with Mabrey, Allisha Gray is one of two players competing in both the 3-Point Contest and the WNBA Skills Challenge. 

Gray also competed in last year’s Skills Challenge, making her the only returning contestant. While the contest is fairly simple, that little bit of experience and comfortability does matter for a course that most of the other players will only have a vague sense of before the competition begins.

Brittany Griner (+380)

Brittney Griner is the biggest player in the contest in all senses of the word: she’s the most well-known, the most talented, and at 6-foot-9, she towers over the competition.

On the NBA side of the Skills Challenge, there’s been a trend toward centers winning the contest over the last several years to the delight of big-man appreciators everywhere.

However, Griner is not the outside shooter that those players were and her speed is likely to be a significant impediment as well. Griner is one of the most skilled players in the W for her size, but not in ways that will likely translate to this contest. Her inclusion as the face of the Mercury franchise is a fun gimmick but she should be considered a longshot at best.

WNBA Skills Challenge pick

Marina Mabrey (+330)

Just how seriously a player will take the Skills Challenge is always an open question. Victor Wembanyama was famously steamed when Anthony Edwards phoned it in during NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis last season as part of a team format. 

After all, it’s not exactly a high-stakes situation with a ton of glory on the line, but Mabrey has something to prove after being traded earlier this week.

She's probably feeling pretty raw about the way things ended with the Chicago Sky at the moment, and I expect she’s going to put her best foot forward as she’s going to be scrutinized more than the other participants during All-Star Weekend. She’s not as fast as Wheeler, but she’s a gifted shooter and should be motivated more than most. 

That’s more than enough to make backing her my favorite play on Friday.

Past Skills Challenge Winners

Year	Player
2023	Kelsea Plum & Chelsea Gray
2022	Sabrina Ionescu
2019	Diamond DeShields
2010	Renee Montgomery
2009	Cappie Pondexter, Sophia Young, Charde Young
2007	Becky Hammon (San Antonio Silver Stars)
2006	Seimone Augustus

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