Breanna Stewart Declares Liberty Kept Receipts On Aces
Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty were extra motivated to eliminate the Las Vegas Aces. Which they did in winning Game 4 in Vegas to end the Aces' chances at a three-peat.
Stewart herself was personally motivated by a loss in her personal life.
Breanna revealed what fueled her during the 76-62 Liberty victory in saying, "My mentality today was to go in and get this win for my wife and her dad."
Her wife Marta's father died just over a year ago.
However, Stewie also made it clear that New York did not forget what the Aces said at their expense after winning the WNBA championship a season ago.
Breanna declared that she and the team did indeed keep receipts when it comes to the comments by the Aces, per @alexaphilippou on X.
"I have receipts on the things that were said, the entire team does", Stewart stated.
Breanna Stewart asked about the emotional nature of this series:
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) October 6, 2024
"My mentality today was to go in and get this win for my wife and her dad." (Marta's father died a year ago yesterday).
She also mentions: "I have receipts on the things that were said, the entire team does."
Stewart herself was mocked by Aces coach Becky Hammon during the championship parade, something that was brought up as extra incentive for revenge during the broadcast of Game 1.
Meanwhile, Kelsey Plum had also questioned the togetherness of New York last year, saying that the Liberty stars reverted to individual basketball when things got tight.
However, the Liberty have been the best team all season and are now returning to the WNBA Finals behind said chemistry, and the individual brilliance of its stars.
That group of course includes Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu.
Ionescu in particular bounced back from a rough outing in Game 3 to help lead the Liberty to victory. She paced New York scoring 22 points, with Breanna tallying 19 to go with 14 rebounds and 4 blocks.
To her credit, Hammon understood the Liberty's sentiment. She had this to say after the contest per@LucasKaplan_.
"We talked a lot of smack last year, I'm sure they heard it. And they got to smack us."
Becky Hammon: "We talked a lot of smack last year, I'm sure they heard it. And they got to smack us." https://t.co/zvx9YZjCzj
— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) October 6, 2024
It's unclear if the Liberty talked any smack themselves after eliminating the Aces, given their play on the court spoke loudly enough.
Robin Lundberg is a media veteran and hoops head who has spent the bulk of his career with iconic brands like Sports Illustrated and ESPN. His insights have also been featured on platforms such as Fox and CNN and he can currently be heard hosting shows for Sirius XM and on his burgeoning YouTube show. And now he brings his basketball expertise to Women's Fastbreak on SI!