Draftkings WNBA DFS Picks: Sparks vs. Valkyries 5/16/25
Los Angeles Sparks vs. Golden State Valkyries
May 16, 2025 10:00 pm EDT
The WNBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a regular season matchup featuring the Los Angeles Sparks and the Golden State Valkyries. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Los Angeles Sparks vs. Golden State Valkyries game let’s review the rules for the Draftkings single game showdown contest.
Draftkings Single Game Showdown Contest Rules
You have $50,000 to utilize on five players from either team. However, one of those players will be designated as your team captain. The captain accumulates 1.5 times the standard fantasy points. Additionally, the captain is 1.5 times the standard cost of the flex position.
The remaining four players in your lineup will receive the standard fantasy points. Having stated that, it is highly important for you to identify the correct player for your captain position if you hope to win a large field DFS GPP (guaranteed prize pool) showdown contest.
If you have additional questions regarding the rules for the single game showdown contest, I recommend that you check out the Draftkings website for more details.
*I recommend that all readers review the starting lineups for both teams prior to setting your DFS lineup for this one game slate.
Here are my Draftkings picks for tonight’s Los Angeles Sparks vs. Golden State Valkyries matchup.
Draftkings WNBA Showdown Picks
Captain-Dearica Hamby, Forward, Los Angeles Sparks $9,400
Veteran forward Dearica Hamby was a standout performer for the Los Angeles Sparks last season. Let’s review Hamby’s relevant player data from the 2024 WNBA regular season to better shed light on the talented forward’s overall contributions to her team.
In the 40 games that Dearica Hamby played for the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2024 WNBA regular season, Hamby averaged a rather impressive 17.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.2 blocks a game.
Looking closer at the data just presented, in the 40 games that Dearica Hamby played for the Sparks in 2024, Hamby averaged 37.3 Draftkings points a contest. It has to be said, those are the type of DFS numbers that I need to see from a player that I select at the captain position.
As I noted in the rules section above, selecting the correct player at the captain position for a Draftkings WNBA showdown lineup is absolutely vital if you hope to win a large field GPP (guaranteed prize pool) DFS contest. Keep that in mind as you construct your lineups.
In summary, I think Los Angeles Sparks forward Dearica Hamby is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in this WNBA regular season game. With that said, I am backing Dearica Hamby at the captain position for this one game Draftkings WNBA single game contest.
Flex Plays
Rickea Jackson, Forward, Los Angeles Sparks $8,600
In addition to Dearica Hamby, forward Rickea Jackson was a key contributor for the Los Angeles Sparks last season. With that said, how did Jackson perform from a statistical perspective in 2024? Let’s examine Jackson’s game data from the 2024 WNBA regular season to answer that question.
In the 40 games that forward Rickea Jackson played for the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2024 WNBA regular season, Jackson averaged a robust 13.4 points, 3.9 assists, 1.5 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 0.4 blocks a game.
In conclusion, I fully expect Los Angeles Sparks guard Rickea Jackson to play well in tonight’s WNBA regular season matchup with the Golden State Valkyries.
Additional flex plays I like to play well in this NBA playoff game (Draftkings price noted): Kelsey Plum, Guard (Los Angeles Sparks) $8,800: Tiffany Hayes, Guard (Golden State Valkyries) $8,400: Julie Vanloo, Guard (Golden State Valkyries) $6,600.
