Stewart just focused on seeing Libs come up Aces

Breanna Stewart is only focused on the Liberty.

The star forward’s arrival — alongside Courtney Vandersloot — to Brooklyn solidifies the Liberty on paper as a superteam. She joins a roster that already included Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones and Stefanie Dolson.

However, Stewart said her decision to join the Liberty this offseason wasn’t influenced by the prior success and free-agent deals from the Las Vegas Aces, or any team in the WNBA.

“When I thought about coming to the Liberty, it wasn’t because of any decision that anyone else had made,” Stewart said during her introductory press conference. “Obviously, Vegas had success last year and they’ve brought in more players and more talent.

“But I think what we’re focused on right now is what we’re doing here in New York and what we’re doing with the Liberty.”

The defending champion Aces reloaded this offseason by signing two-time MVP Candace Parker. After two seasons with the Chicago Sky, Parker inked a one-year deal worth $100,000 — which is a discount — to join forces with two-time MVP A’ja Wilson, All-Stars Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray.

The two teams will undoubtedly draw comparisons to each other due to the sheer star power featured on their respective rosters. The two franchises’ offseason splashes are something Stewart said “the league needs” and are difficult to accomplish under the league’s core player system.

The core player system functions like the NFL’s franchise tag, allowing WNBA teams to hold on to the rights of a player who would otherwise become a free agent.

“With the old CBA and the ability to core players multiple times, (player autonomy) didn’t really happen much,” Stewart said. “And you’re gonna to see it happening a lot more. And that means just player movement, fan engagement is gonna go from one team to another team. It’s just gonna make it more exciting. Make things more spicy.

“You’re gonna look up, I mean, gonna be weird to see us in a Liberty uniform,” Stewart added while gesturing to her new teammate Vandersloot. “I think it’s gonna weird for us to see ourselves in a Liberty uniform. But it’s what the league needs to continue to kind of grow the way we want it to and the way that it should.”

Stewart’s arrival teams the star up with her pal, Betnijah Laney. The former MVP said the two have been friends since the age of 14 and both played on the Team USA 16U squad as teenagers. They were also teammates on Team USA’s 2022 World Cup gold medal-winning squad and faced off in their college days, with Stewart at the University of Connecticut and Laney suiting up for Rutgers.