Two-time MVP
Former UConn women’s star Breanna Stewart named 2023 winner
UConn women’s basketball great Breanna Stewart has been named WNBA MVP for the second time in her career.
Stewart, in her eighth year in the league, has led the New York Liberty to the No. 2 seed in the WNBA playoffs as they host No. 3 Connecticut Sun Tuesday night in Game 2 of the semifinals. The former Husky signed with New York this offseason after spending the previous seven years playso ing in Seattle.
Stewart led the Liberty during the regular season with 23.0 points (careerhigh), 9.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.6 blocks in 34.1 minutes per game. She is also third on New York with a career-high 3.8 assists per game.
The former Husky beat out the Sun’s Alyssa Thomas and Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson for the 2023 MVP Award. Stewart previously won WNBA MVP in 2018 when she led the Storm to the WNBA Championship where she was also named Finals MVP. In 2020, she was alFormer named Finals MVP as she led Seattle to that year’s WNBA title.
Stewart becomes the eighth player in WNBA history to win the WNBA MVP award multiple times, joining Lauren Jackson, Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper, Elena Delle Donne, Candace Parker and A’ja Wilson. She is also the first former Husky to win the award more than once. In honor of being named this year’s MVP, Stewart will receive $15,450 and a trophy designed by Tiffany & Co.
Stewart was drafted No. 1 overall by the Storm in 2016 yet entered this last offseason as a free agent. With fellow former UConn and Seattle great Sue Bird officially retired, Stewart expressed interest in signing with a new team, particularly one with championship aspirations.
In February, she made her move official and signed with New York. Not only would she be closer to her hometown of North Syracuse, New York, but she’d join one of the most iconic and talented starting lineups in the league With the addition, the Liberty had a starting five of Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Courtney Vandersloot, Betnijah Laney and former Sun star (and 2021 MVP) Jonquel Jones.
Despite a rocky training camp (where Stewart was a late arrival, Vandersloot sat out with a concussion and Jones was dealing with an ongoing foot injury) New York was quick to establish itself as the WNBA’s new powerhouse.
Stewart recorded four regular-season games of 40 or more points, setting the WNBA single-season
record and matching fellow former UConn great Diana Taurasi for the most in a career. Stewart also set the Liberty’s single-game point record with 45 points in 30 minutes on May 21 against Indiana.
In her first year with New York, Stewart set the franchise records for total points (919) and rebounds (371). She also became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 4,000 points (196 games).
The Liberty finished the regular season 32-8. It also won the franchise’s first championship title by defeating 2022 WNBA Champion Las Vegas in the 2023 Commissioner’s Cup.
With Stewart as its leader, New York is hoping to beat Connecticut and advance to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2002. The Liberty have made four Finals appearances all-time but are still looking for their first WNBA title.
At UConn, Stewart led the Huskies to four straight NCAA Championships and was named the tournament’s MOP all four years. She was a three-time National Player of the Year and a threetime All-American.