Breanna Stewart

Breanna Mackenzie Stewart (/briːˈænə/ bree-ANN-ə; Born, August 27, 1994), nicknamed "Stewie", is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for the Mist of Unrivaled. She is one of the most accomplished basketball players in history. Stewart is a founder of the Unrivaled basketball league together with Napheesa Collier.

In high school, Stewart was the National Gatorade Player of the Year, the Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year, and a McDonald's All-American. She led the University of Connecticut Huskies to four consecutive national championships, was named the Final Four's most outstanding player a record four times, and was a three-time consensus national player of the year.

She was the first overall pick in the 2016 WNBA draft and was named the 2016 WNBA Rookie of the Year. She was named the WNBA MVP in 2018 and 2023, and was named an All-Star in 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023. She led the Storm to two championships in 2018 and 2020, and received the WNBA Finals MVP award both times. In 2021, Stewart was named to The W25 as one of the top 25 players of the WNBA's first 25 years.

Stewart is a two-time EuroLeague Women champion and was MVP of the league in 2019, as well as winning national league titles in Russia and Türkiye.

As a member of the U.S. women's national team, Stewart has won gold medals in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 Olympics and at the 2014, 2018, and 2022 FIBA World Cups.

Stewart was born Breanna Mackenzie Baldwin in Syracuse, New York, to a single mother, Heather Baldwin. Her biological father was not involved in her life, and her mother worked multiple jobs to support herself and her daughter. When Stewart was a toddler, her mother began dating Brian Stewart, who later adopted Stewart after marrying Baldwin. She has a younger half-brother, Connor.

Stewart began playing basketball at an early age. Due to her height her coaches wanted her inside as a rebounder, but her father encouraged her to practice ball handling skills and a perimeter shooting ability. She started a daily routine of dribbling around her block, wearing headphones, for a mile. Her routine improved her ball handling to the point she routinely dribbled behind her back or between her legs.

In a 2017 essay in The Players' Tribune, Stewart publicly revealed that she had been a victim of sexual abuse from age 9 to 11. She reported the abuse to her parents, who immediately called police. The perpetrator, who was married to her maternal aunt, confessed to the abuse and ultimately served prison time.