EXCLUSIVE: Liberty's Breanna Stewart Talks Playoffs, New Cause

New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart spoke to Knicks on SI shortly before the WNBA Playoffs tipped off over the weekend.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

BROOKLYN-The end of this latest WNBA path that New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart has paved has been one of the most winding yet, simultaneously featuring euphoria, joy, heartbreak, and triumph as the postseason looms.

Much has transpired since Stewart last partook in WNBA postseason action: shortly before she and the Liberty partook in the 2023 WNBA Finals against Las Vegas, her father-in-law Josep (the father of her wife Marta Xargay) passed away after a cancer battle. Stewart has since honored his memory by making Josep the middle name of her second child Theo, who arrived three years after she and Marta's daughter Ruby.

The Liberty fell to Las Vegas in the Finals but are pegged to make a return trip by many after posting a league-best 32-8 record, tying last year's mark as the best in franchise history. Stewart, the reigning WNBA MVP, also earned an Olympic gold medal in the United States' recent ringed run and has played a major role in the Liberty's success since coming back from Paris, averaging 22.1 points and 7.7 rebounds in the 15 games since.

With the Liberty set to open WNBA playoff action on Sunday against the Atlanta Dream (1 p.m. ET, ESPN), Stewart used what little free time she had left to partake in an event hosted by the National Marrow Donor Program, "a global leader in bone marrow & blood stem cell transplant." A frequent speaker of matters beyond the court, Stewart joined the NMDP registry and spoke with those the organization has helped, such as Sept. 11, 2001 hero Brian Kevan, a cancer survivor and former firefighter.

"Having someone of Breanna's stature is just incredible to really get the word out about our mission," NMDP director Ron Jacob told Knicks on SI. "It is one of the most critical things when it comes to our organization because there are a lot of misconceptions about being a donor, who donates blood stem cells or marrow. I think just that exposure that she brings is going to be incredible because it will allow people to truly learn what it means to be a donor."

Stewart spoke to Knicks on SI in an exclusive interview shortly before she and her fellow New Yorkers embark on this new postseason path ...

Brandon Todd NY Liberty

Q: What's the biggest challenge in raising awareness to a cause such as this? We know what brought you here, but what stood out about the work NMDP has done and what made you want to partner with them?

BS: I think what stood out to me, especially when it comes to the work that NMDP has done, was just the way that they're continuing to raise awareness, specifically after last year.

After my father-in-law, Marta's dad, had passed away, they've made sure that I'm able to kind of be out there and help make a change and not only meet some of the donors but also the ones that have been the recipients of the blood stem cell transplants and stuff like that . Everyone has a story and people are fighting and life is so much bigger than anything else that we're doing.

Q: You're obviously no stranger to the Empire State, being a Syracuse native but how has playing in New York advanced both your advocacy and difference-making on and off the court and how has the city endeared itself as a long-term home to you?

BS: I think to be able to be a part of New York and be in Brooklyn and New York City, the potential and the options are limitless. That means that I can do a lot to impact the community and be at an event like this today or be at a coat drive in the fall months with the Liberty.

It's important to me and I think that as me, Marta, and the family are really getting comfortable here,
we want to, I want to make an impact on the court and also off the court.

Q: This team has been through, unfortunately, a lot of loss this season away from the floor; Courtney (Vandersloot) lost her mother, Jonquel (Jons) lost a coach, yet you've pulled through in so many ways en route to the top seed. So how do you think you and your teams has picked yourselves up mentally and defied the notion that this team "doesn't care about each other?"

BS: I think the way that we kind of pick each other up is just being there for one another.

We know that there are some things that happen in life that are way more important than what we do on the basketball court. Making sure that we feel that first and that we have one another's back and help each other get through tough times is huge.

Q: From both an on and off-court perspective, where has this team grown and developed the most from last year's title run to this one?

BS: I think where we've grown and developed the most is probably just, like, the vulnerability being able to kind of talk about the things that are hard for us or struggling and that might be in a personal aspect. That also works in a basketball sense, especially when you're working through the hard things that happen over the course of a season.

Q: For you personally, the past year-plus has simultaneously been one of victory, heartbreak, and joy. Where would you say you've grown the most as both an athlete and as a human being in that span?

BS: I think that all of it has continued to kind of give me perspective in everything that I've been able to do, especially last postseason.

It was a combination of so many emotions: amazing, sadness, tears, happiness from having a newborn. It's kind of like just the emotions you feel as you go through life. It's great to have the perspective to make sure that I have a circle around me and know that, you know, specifically speaking about Marta's dad, like, doing the things that he would want us to be doing and making sure that we raise Ruby and Theo to be their best and also figure out what they want to do, too.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

Q: Speaking of your children, at the end of last season, you said that 'being a role model to Ruby and Tao motivates (you) and brings (you) joy and perspective.' How have you fulfilled that goal and that endeavor this time around?

BS: To be able to have Ruby and Tao around this entire season has been so important.

Ruby's older. She has more awareness of what I'm doing, and she loves to come to the basketball games. But it's not only me: it's so important for them to be looking up to me, to Marta, but also my teammates and seeing the way that they work. Hopefully, as they really get older, they can do whatever they want. and I'm going to put them around a lot of amazing people and they can be like this one day.

Q: To that end with your teammates, Jonquel Jones and Kayla Thronton recently revealed a new pregame mantra of "We all we got, we all we need." What do those words mean to you?

BS: To me, it's just like it's just us and that's really it.

They changed it up when we were in Dallas, the way we did our pregame. And it's a way for us to to kind of get hyped. But it's also a way to remember that this is our group, that these 12 aren't changing.

These are the 12 that we'll go to war with.

Q: Head coach Sandy Brondello has often spoken of how sacrifices have paved the way to the modern Liberty success. What sacrifices have you had to make and how have they made you a better athlete/human?

BS: I think the sacrifices that I've made this season are just like the ability to be vulnerable, being able to kind of break things up and create change, but also like putting in the work and that's really it.

There's a lot that's happening and sometimes I'm not always able to go to events like this because of what we want to do as a team. But that helps me understand why we're here even more.

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