This week, SB Nation is introducing each of the 12 members of the U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team. Here’s what you need to know about Breanna Stewart, one of the most decorated athletes in the Olympic Games. WNBA.
Fast Facts
team: New York Liberty (21-4)
2024 Regular Season Statistics: 19.3 points (45.4%), 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
position: Forward
Draft Class: 2016, No. 1
All-Star Selection:6 (2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
Past Olympic Games: Not applicable
CollegeUniversity of Connecticut – 4-time national champion (2013-2016)
Breanna Stewart’s career is nothing short of legendary.
Few players in any sport can match the resume of Breanna Stewart. Often referred to as “Stewie,” Stewart has won two WNBA championships (2018, 2020) and two Finals MVP awards, won two league MVP awards (2018, 2023) and has been named to the All-WNBA First Team five times (2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023).
Before turning pro, she led the University of Connecticut to four consecutive national championships, a sustained run of dominance that will likely never be seen again in college basketball. During all four straight victories, Stewart was named the conference’s Most Outstanding Player, leading the Huskies to a rare four-peat.
Her transition to the pros was seamless, as she was named Rookie of the Year in her first year and an All-Star in her second year. Just a few years later, Stewie has firmly established herself in the GOAT discussion in women’s basketball.
Perhaps most amazingly, she’s only 29 years old, meaning her long and nearly unparalleled list of accomplishments is still growing.
In 2019, she ruptured her Achilles tendon but recovered to return.
Breanna Stewart missed the entire year of the 2019 WNBA season when she ruptured her Achilles tendon while playing in Russia. She was in the midst of the best game of her career and was months away from winning her first Finals MVP and WNBA title.
But Stewie never lost her momentum and returned in 2020 to lead the Storm to their second championship. In 2018, she averaged 24.6 points and shot 46.6% from the field to win her first championship. In 2020, she actually Improved Those numbers translate to an average of 25.7 points and 53.8% shooting from the field.
After his second win, Stewart reflected on those terrifying first moments after his injury.
“After I ruptured my Achilles, I didn’t know what was going to happen.” She later said:“You only see the worst. If you only see the worst, you don’t know if you can ever get back to normal.”
However, her performance in 2020 showed that she more It’s not just recovery.
“What I’m most proud of is the fact that I think I’m better than I was before,” Stewart says. As told to Holly Rowe A few months have passed since I returned home.
She is a key player for the New York Liberty, the top team in the WNBA.
Ahead of the 2023 season, Stewart left the Seattle Storm for the Liberty, where she teamed with Courtney VanderSloot, Jonquel Jones, Sabrina Ionesco, and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton. In their first season together, the Liberty performed well but ultimately lost to the Aces, 3-1, in the WNBA Finals. Stewart struggled uncharacteristically during the playoffs, shooting just 35.8% from the field and averaging just 18.4 points per game.
Stewie is averaging 19.3 points, nine rebounds and four assists per game this season while also being a key part of the Liberty defense. Though it’s not the best year of her career, she and her teammates have done enough to keep the Liberty at the top of the standings.
New York currently sits at 21-4, the best record in the league, and Stewart seems poised to win his third championship.
She’s launching “Unrivaled,” a 3-on-3 basketball league for the WNBA’s top stars.
Co-founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier UnparalleledThe WNBA is a three-on-three basketball league set to launch in January that will keep the best WNBA players in the United States during the offseason. The league will be based in Miami and will feature 30 of the league’s stars, 10 of whom have already been announced and will be guaranteed salaries of at least $100,000.
“We need Unrivaled because we have a seven-month gap in the season and we have a way to keep our players home, continue to build our brand, get into a different market than the ‘W’ team and grow from there.” Stewart told Fox NY. “We look at the moment and the movement that’s happening behind women’s sports, particularly the WNBA and women’s basketball, and we continue to make sure people find us where they want to be.”
