Draftkings WNBA DFS Picks: Valkyries vs. Mercury 8/22/25
Golden State Valkyries vs. Phoenix Mercury
August 22, 2025 10:00 pm EDT
The WNBA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a regular season matchup featuring the Golden State Valkyries and the Phoenix Mercury. Let’s take a look at this game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Golden State Valkyries vs. Phoenix Mercury 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 Valkyries vs. Mercury matchup.
Draftkings WNBA DFS Picks
Captain-Alyssa Thomas, Forward, Phoenix Mercury $11,600
Veteran forward Alyssa Thomas has been the driving force behind the Phoenix Mercury’s success on the basketball court this season. With that said, how has Thomas forward performed from a statistical perspective? Let’s review the talented forward’s relevant player data from the 2025 WNBA regular season to answer that question.
In the 30 games that forward Alyssa Thomas has played for the Phoenix Mercury in the 2025 WNBA regular season, Thomas is averaging a rather impressive 16.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.5 blocks a game.
Looking at the data just presented more closely, in the 30 games that Alyssa Thomas has played for the Mercury in 2025, Thomas has compiled a 53.7% field goal percentage and a 71.5% free throw percentage.
These two teams have met multiple times this season. How did Alyssa Thomas perform in the most recent matchup? Who prevailed? In the Phoenix Mercury’s 98-91 victory over the Golden State Valkyries three days ago, Phoenix forward Alyssa Thomas certainly played well. More specifically, in the Mercury’s 98-91 win over the Valkyries, Thomas amassed 13 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, one steal and one block.
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 my view, Alyssa Thomas is the most likely player to amass the most Draftkings points in this WNBA game. For that specific reason, I am backing Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas at the captain position for this WNBA regular season game.
Flex Plays
Natasha Mack, Guard, Phoenix Mercury $6,000
In addition to Alyssa Thomas, forward Natasha Mack has been a key contributor for the Phoenix Mercury this season.
In the 25 games that guard Natasha Mack has played for the Phoenix Mercury in the 2025 WNBA regular season, Mack has averaged 17.1 Draftkings points a contest.
In conclusion, I fully expect Natasha Mack to continue to play well in this WNBA regular season game.
Additional flex plays I like to play well in this evening’s WNBA regular season game (Draftkings price noted): Veronica Burton, Guard (Golden State Valkyries) $9,600: Tiffany Hayes, Guard (Golden State Valkyries) $7,800.
