WNBA Daily Fantasy Picks & Lineup Tips for July 12: A Super Simple Guide

What Is Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) and How Does It Work?

Imagine you are the coach of a pretend basketball team for just one day. You pick real WNBA players who are playing in today’s games. Each website (like FanDuel or DraftKings) gives you a fake budget (shown as a dollar number like $7,100) to “buy” players. When your chosen players do good things in the real game—like scoring baskets, grabbing rebounds (balls that bounce off the rim), or passing to teammates for scores—you earn fantasy points. If your team scores more points than other people’s teams, you can win prizes.

• FanDuel and DraftKings are two different playgrounds with slightly different rules and prices.
• A slate is just the set of games played on a certain day.
• A matchup is one game between two teams.
• An over/under is a guess of the total points both teams will score together.
• A spread is a guess of how many points one team will win or lose by.

What Happened Saturday and What’s on Sunday?

After Saturday’s three-game slate that included one of the biggest blowout wins in WNBA history (the Mercury vs. the Aces), the weekend ends with four games on Sunday.

• The Liberty and Tempo play each other in an afternoon game.
• The Storm and Mystics also play in the afternoon.
• In the evening, the Sky travel to Dallas to play the Wings.
• The last game is the Fever versus the Aces.

Important: Want help building your pretend team? Try the WNBA Lineup Optimizer. It gives smart suggestions and lets you:

1. See expert recommendations.
2. Customize which players you want to consider.
3. Set an “exposure percentage” (how often you want a player in your lines).
4. Mass-enter (enter many) DFS lineups at once.

WNBA Games Today and Team Records

Here are the four games with how teams have done at home or on the road (away games are when they travel):

• New York Liberty at Toronto Tempo: Liberty have won 6 and lost 5 on the road; Tempo have won 5 and lost 7 at home and are on a four-game losing streak (they’ve lost four in a row).
• Seattle Storm at Washington Mystics: Storm are 2‑10 on the road; Mystics are 4‑5 at home.
• Chicago Sky at Dallas Wings: Sky are 4‑8 on the road; Wings are 6‑3 at home and on a four-game winning streak.
• Indiana Fever at Las Vegas Aces: Fever are 5‑5 on the road; Aces are 7‑4 at home.

For the latest spread and over/under numbers, visit RotoWire’s WNBA Odds page. There you can also find player props, futures, picks, articles, and sportsbook bonus codes.

Who’s Hurt? (Injury Report)

Injuries matter because if a player can’t play, you can’t pick them. Words used:

• OUT = definitely not playing.
• Questionable = might not play.
• Probable = likely to play.
• Coach’s decision = the coach decided to sit them out.

For all updates, check the WNBA Injury News and WNBA Injury Report.

• New York Liberty: Satou Sabally (concussion), Leonie Fiebich (foot), Marine Fauthoux (coach’s decision), Anneli Maley (coach’s decision) are OUT.
• Toronto Tempo: Nyara Sabally (foot) is Questionable; Brittney Sykes (foot), Temi Fagbenle (concussion), Kiki Rice (ankle) are OUT.
• Seattle Storm: Ezi Magbegor (face), Taina Mair (coach’s decision) are OUT.
• Washington Mystics: Sonia Citron (knee) is Probable; Alicia Florez (neck) is Questionable.
• Chicago Sky: Skylar Diggins (knee) is Questionable; DiJonai Carrington (foot) is OUT.
• Dallas Wings: No injuries to report.
• Indiana Fever: Caitlin Clark (back) is Probable.
• Las Vegas Aces: Dana Evans (leg), Ta’Niya Latson (coach’s decision) are Questionable.

Important Callout: Always check injury status right before the game starts because things can change!

Elite WNBA DFS Players (The Stars)

These are the best players to target, but they cost more of your fake budget.

Guards (Players Who Mostly Dribble and Shoot)

• FanDuel Pick: Marina Mabrey, Tempo ($7,100) vs. Liberty
  Mabrey has been scoring a lot lately—20 or more points in four of her last six games. The Liberty don’t defend guards terribly well, so even though it’s not a perfect matchup, her price is low enough compared to how well she’s playing that she’s a good choice.

• DraftKings Pick: Paige Bueckers, Wings ($11,100) vs. Sky
  The Wings are the biggest favorites to win Sunday, and their game against the Sky is expected to have the second‑most total points. Dallas players are priced nicely on DraftKings, so picking several Wings (called a stack) is smart. Bueckers has scored at least 34.3 DraftKings points in each of her last nine games. In two games vs Chicago this year she got 32.8 and 45.3 DK points. She’s reliable and can go even higher.

Forwards/Centers (Taller Players Near the Basket)

• FanDuel Pick: A’ja Wilson, Aces ($9,600) vs. Fever
  Wilson is the top frontcourt player again after the Aces blew out the Mercury Saturday. She costs the most on FanDuel, but she has gotten a “double‑double” (10+ in two stats, like points and rebounds) in her last three games and is back to great form after missing three games with a leg injury.

• DraftKings Pick: Jessica Shepard, Wings ($11,600) vs. Sky
  Shepard was good before but is even better this season in Dallas. She has double‑doubles in recent games, including two double‑doubles and a triple‑double (10+ in three stats) in her last three. Her price is high, but she produces enough to be worth it, and she’s a cheaper alternative to A’ja Wilson ($12,800).

Tip: A “stack” means picking multiple players from the same team because if that team plays well, all your picks get points.

Mid-Range WNBA DFS Picks (Middle Prices)

These players cost less than the stars but more than bargains.

• FanDuel Pick: Azura Stevens, Sky ($5,500) at Wings
  Stevens has been a steady scorer and rebounder, with at least 23.6 FanDuel points in five of her last six games. She only had one double‑double in that stretch, but she normally gets enough points and rebounds (plus occasional other stats) to be worth this price.

• DraftKings Pick: Arike Ogunbowale, Wings ($6,800) vs. Sky
  Like the Sabrina Ionescu pick from Saturday’s FanDuel slate, Ogunbowale hasn’t been perfectly consistent in 2026, but she can explode for big points. She just had 20 points, 7 assists (passes leading to scores), and 3 rebounds vs the Tempo. She’s done well against the Sky before, making her a fun part of a Wings stack.

WNBA DFS Value Picks (Bargains)

These cost the least fake money but can still help.

• FanDuel Pick: Monique Billings, Fever ($4,600) at Aces
  Billings had a bad game Thursday (2 points, 2 rebounds in 15 minutes), which may be why her price is low. But in the three games before that she scored at least 23.2 FD points each, including a game vs the Aces where she had 6 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block in 21 minutes.

• FanDuel Pick: Courtney Vandersloot, Sky ($4,400) at Wings
  Vandersloot returned from a torn ACL (knee ligament) in late June. Her playing time has stayed under 20 minutes recently, but her cheap price makes her worth a look, especially if she plays a bit more Sunday.

• DraftKings Pick: Katie Lou Samuelson, Storm ($3,900) at Mystics
  Steering away from the Wings, Samuelson scored only 3 points Tuesday but was better in the two games before. She probably won’t get huge points, but on a slate with few cheap good options, she’s a okay low‑cost choice.

A Note About the Article Writers

The people who wrote this might also play daily fantasy contests themselves, including the ones they gave advice on. They may use different players or strategies in their own accounts. The advice here doesn’t necessarily reflect the whole RotoWire company. Writer Jason Shebilske plays as: DraftKings: FavreFanatic, FanDuel: Favre_Fanatic.

Summary

Sunday’s WNBA slate has four games: Liberty‑Tempo, Storm‑Mystics, Sky‑Wings, and Fever‑Aces. Several stars are hurt or questionable, so check the injury list. For DFS, top expensive picks include Marina Mabrey (FD), Paige Bueckers (DK), A’ja Wilson (FD), and Jessica Shepard (DK). Middle picks: Azura Stevens (FD) and Arike Ogunbowale (DK). Bargains: Monique Billings, Courtney Vandersloot (FD), and Katie Lou Samuelson (DK). The Dallas Wings look strong, so stacking their players could be smart. Use the optimizer tool if you need help, and always verify injuries before locking your team.

FAQ

1. What does “DFS” mean in simple terms?
DFS stands for Daily Fantasy Sports. It’s a game where you pick real players for one day’s matches using a fake budget, and you earn points based on what they do in real life.

2. What is a “double‑double” or “triple‑double”?
A double‑double is when a player reaches 10 or more in two good stats (like points and rebounds) in one game. A triple‑double is the same but in three stats.

3. What is a “stack” and why would I use one?
A stack is when you pick several players from the same team. If that team has a great game, all your players get points together, which can boost your score.

4. What do the injury words “OUT,” “Questionable,” and “Probable” mean?
OUT means the player will not play. Questionable means they might play but we don’t know. Probable means they will likely play.

5. What are FanDuel and DraftKings?
They are two websites where you can play DFS. Each has its own fake money prices and scoring system, so the same player may cost different amounts on each.