Breanna Stewart joins Liberty in WNBA free agency blockbuster
Stewie is coming to New York.
WNBA superstar Breanna Stewart, the 2018 MVP and arguably the greatest free-agent prize in league history, has agreed to sign with the Liberty, she announced Wednes🗹day on social media.
“I decided to go to New York because I want to continue to be great, and I want to go to the place where I can continꦆue to help this league become better, to continue to raise the standard,” Stewart said during an appearance on “SportsCenter” on Wednesday afternoon. “And I feel like: Why not go to the biggest market in all of sports? And I’m really excited to go after their first championship.”
Stewart of the Empire State Building with her nickname “Stewie” in lights to signal the move, which will alter the WNBA landscape. She also shared a TikTok video in which she reveals a Liberty practice jersey.
She will join All-Star point guard Sabrina Ionescu and fellow former MVP Jonquel Jones, who was acqui💞red in a trade from the Connecticut S🌼un two weeks ago, to give the Liber💮ty a de facto superteam and instant title contender.
Ionescu by writing, “OMFGGGGG LETS GOOOOO.” Jones also with her approval.
The Liberty, an original WNBA franchise, continues to seek their first championship, now under the stewardship of Nets owners Joe and Clara Tsai.🔯 The Liberty finisಌhed 16-20 last season in Sandy Brondello’s first season as head coach and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
In addition to the transformative acquisitions of Stewart and Jones, the Liberty added rugged forward Kayla Thornton to a core that includes Ionescu, 2021 All-Star wing Betnijah Laney, stalwart ce🤡nter Stefanie Dolson and top internationals Marine Johannes and Han Xu.
The top remaining WNBA free agent, point guard Courtney Vandersloot, has a history of playing on European teams with Stewart in the offseason, and they have been mentioned in t♐he same breath in some turns of the rumor mill.
Meanwhile, the defending🎃-champion Las Vegas Aces made their own free-agency splash over the weekend by adding the legendary Candace Parker.
“I think this group has a ton of potential,” Stewart said of the Liberty. “Superteams are the new thing, as you can see. … When you look at the talent, there’s a lot of amazin♌g players on this roster. We’re going to go after the championship.”
Stewart’s comments about “raising the standard” in the league is a reference to the campaign she conducted during her free agency to advocate for the use of charter flights in the WNBA. The Liberty have been at the forefront of the issue as proponents of private travel under the Tsais’ ownership, even getting sanctioned by the league two years ago for taking unauthorized charter flights.
Stewart, 28, won two titles in six seasons with the Seattle Storm, winning Finals MVP honors on both occasions. She missed the 2019 season after tearing her left Achilles. Stewart was the league’s leading sc❀orer in 2022 with 21.8 points per game.
Stewart, a Syracuse native, was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2016 after winning four national titles in four seasons at Connecticut. Stewart also won Olympic gold medals with Team USA i🃏n the Rio deJa🍬neiro and Tokyo Games.