WNBA
WNBA · Thursday 24 September
Valkyries at Sparks Final Score: Valkyries Win 76-75
Final: Golden State Valkyries 76, Los Angeles Sparks 75, Thursday 24 September at crypto.com Arena.
Our call was no bet. Before the game this page said: “Los Angeles is 3-9 at home against winning teams. Take the Valkyries at -7.5 or shorter.” The line that posted, Valkyries -10.5, was outside that threshold, so it was no bet.
What decided it
Golden State won the fourth quarter by 10. Golden State turned the ball over 10 times to Los Angeles’s 14, and shot 39% from the field to 41%.
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden State Valkyries | 15 | 11 | 20 | 30 | 76 |
| Los Angeles Sparks | 13 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 75 |
The last DraftKings line ESPN holds for the game is GS -10.5, with a total of 159.5. Golden State did not cover as the favourite. The 151 points went under the total.
What comes next
ESPN lists no further game for the Golden State Valkyries yet. ESPN lists no further game for the Los Angeles Sparks yet.
The prediction, as published before the game
Everything below is the page as it stood before the game, kept unchanged as the record. It was titled “Pick the Valkyries – Valkyries at Sparks prediction, odds and best picks”.
Los Angeles is 3-9 at home against winning teams. Take the Valkyries at -7.5 or shorter.
No book had a line on this game when I read the market at 16:15 UTC on 21 September, so this piece gives the price I would pay. My number is Golden State by 8.75. Every figure runs through Sunday 20 September; both teams play once more before Thursday.
The number
Golden State has a winning record, so my figure takes Los Angeles’s home games against winning teams. Los Angeles has a losing record, so it takes Golden State’s road games against losing teams. Half the difference between the two average margins is the number.
Los Angeles is 3-9 in those twelve home games and loses them by 8.5 points on average. Golden State is 7-2 in its nine road games against losing teams and wins them by 9.0. Half the difference is Golden State by 8.75.
I play a side when my number and the price are at least a point apart, which makes Golden State a bet at -7.5 or shorter and a pass at -8 or longer. ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Golden State 77.8%.
Two heavy losses in the sample
Los Angeles’s twelve home games against winning teams include defeats by 36 and 27. Without both, the other ten average a 3.9-point loss, and my number falls to Golden State by 6.45, under the pick price.
The method counts every game, and those two happened. The margin of safety depends on them.
Golden State
The Valkyries are 31-11 and have won six straight, the last two at home: 82-66 over Portland on 18 September and 70-57 over Seattle on Saturday. They allow 74.8 points a game, the fewest of any team in this week’s slate, and are 14-6 on the road.
They have won both meetings with Los Angeles, 78-58 at home on 15 June and 84-78 in Los Angeles on 9 August.
Los Angeles
The Sparks are 16-26. They beat Portland 105-84 at home on Sunday after a 97-77 loss in Dallas on 17 September. At home they are 8-12 and lose by 3.4 a game.
The total
With no total posted there is nothing to bet. Golden State’s games have a median total of 162, the lowest in the league, and Los Angeles’s 181. Over the last ten, the Valkyries’ games have averaged 146.4 and the Sparks’ 168.1.
The two meetings produced 136 and 162. Both sat at or under Golden State’s median.
Pick: Valkyries -7.5 or shorter
Pick: Golden State Valkyries, at -7.5 or shorter. My number is Golden State by 8.75. No line had been posted when this was written, 21 September 2026 at 16:15 UTC.
What would change it: a line of Golden State -8 or longer is a pass. So is any sign that Golden State rests starters on the last night of the regular season.
Golden State Valkyries at Los Angeles Sparks, Thursday 24 September 2026, 10:00 PM ET, crypto.com Arena. Results: ESPN, read 21 September 2026, each final checked against Nucleus where Nucleus holds the game. ESPN matchup predictor read 21 September 2026. Every WNBA game: WNBA predictions.