Breanna Stewart’s tank was empty when the clock struck zero on Liberty’s season.
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She left everything she had on the floor but finally limped through WNBA offseason with a sprained MCL in her left knee – one of several lower body injuries she suffered during a particularly grueling 11 months.
So if there’s any consolation to the Liberty’s exit in the first round of the playoffs, it would be that Stewart finally gets a chance to rest and prioritize his health.
Stewart said she’s “really happy” with where she is as she prepares the second season of Unrivaled.
Stewart took at least a month away from the basketball court and she even took a vacation before arriving in Miami for the matchless training camp this week.
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Stewart said none of his injuries required offseason surgery. She said she had the usual platelet-rich plasma with hyaluronic acid injections, often used to treat joint pain, but nothing that strayed from the 31-year-old’s routine maintenance.
“Really, it was a holiday,” Stewart said Wednesday. “I can’t tell you the last time I just wasn’t on the basketball court for a month.”
Liberty’s Breanna Stewarta playoff game against the Phoenix Mercury. P.A.
Stewart first injured her right knee in Game 5 of the 2024 WNBA Finals. After taking a brief leave of absence, she did her best to play through knee discomfort during Unrivaled’s inaugural season.
In March, Stewart underwent what she described as minor cleaning surgery on her right meniscus. The surgery delayed her preparation process for the WNBA season and she had a short minutes restriction at the start of the season.
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Stewart also missed a month of action after the All-Star break due to a bone bruise in his right knee.
Mounting injuries and miles wore Stewart down. This resulted in one of his most difficult campaigns according to the standards it has set to date.
Stewart was the Liberty’s defensive anchor and New York was much better with her on the court than without her. She averaged 18.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game last season.
Breanna Stewart #30 of the New York Liberty blocks a shot against Angel Reese #5 of the Chicago Sky. Michelle Farsi/New York Post
She led the Liberty in scoring, but the way she got those points was different than in previous seasons.
About 78.7 percent of Stewart’s field goal attempts were 2s, according to Basketball-Reference.com. (His career average is 70.3 percent.)
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She shot 46.1 percent from the field, including 74.6 percent in the restricted area and 42.9 percent in the paint (unrestricted area), according to WNBA advanced stats.
She also averaged a career-high 6.5 free throw attempts per game, second only to A’ja Wilson.
But Stewart’s 3-point shooting has been in decline over the past two seasons. She shot 29.5% from deep in 2024. Last season, she shot a career-low 24.7% from deep and attempted the fewest 3-pointers (2.8 per game) in her nine-year WNBA career.
THE lower body injuries this may have impacted his lift.
Everything is clearer with perspective.
“Rushing to come back and play, I didn’t give myself time to really heal,” Stewart said.
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Stewart said she “was able to step back” after the Liberty season and “feel better” before returning to the court, and now she’s focused on rediscovering her flow.
“Honestly, I’m really happy with where I’m at,” Stewart said. “I think as far as how my season ended, I’m obviously not happy with the Liberty and what happened, but it gave me time. It gave me time, it gave me time to get away from the field and really work on my body. And I think I’m definitely getting back the fluidity and the flow, like I was on the field with (former Liberty assistant and Mist head coach Zach O’Brien) earlier, and I just feel like I’m back to myself, which I’m happy about, and knowing that everything works together, like, in (tandem), just to give me the rhythm that I need to be confident going into Unrivaled and really come back to myself, that’s my main idea, but having confidence in my shot is huge.
