Reigning WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart has re-signed with the New York Liberty, according to Shams Charania. This was widely expected after the Liberty used the core designation on Stewart early in the free agency period to secure exclusive negotiating rights with the superstar forward. Per Charania, it's a one-year, non-guaranteed, below-maximum deal for Stewart.
After spending the first seven seasons of her career with the Seattle Storm, Stewart made the league-altering decision to join the Liberty in free agency last winter, forming a superteam with Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones and Courtney Vandersloot in the process. She only signed a one-year, deal, though, which is why she was a free agent again this offseason.
Regardless of the Liberty's decision to core Stewart, there was never much anticipation she would leave. She and the Liberty have unfinished business after a disappointing end to their first season together.
Stewart put together a historic regular season in which she won her second MVP, made the All-Star Game, All-WNBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team, averaged a career-high 23 points per game and set a new league record for 40-point games in a season with four. Along the way she led the Liberty to a 32-8 record and the second-most wins in a season all-time.
In the playoffs, however, Stewart's shot abandoned her. To that point she had been one of the best postseason performers ever, but she made just 35.8% of her attempts during the Liberty's run to the Finals. In Game 4, with the Liberty facing elimination and a severely shorthanded Las Vegas Aces team, Stewart went 3-of-17 from the field and missed a wide open 3-pointer that would have cut the deficit to one with less than two minutes to play. The Liberty went on to lose by one and had to watch the Aces celebrate back-to-back titles on the Barclays Center court.
The Aces are running it back this season, and now that Stewart has re-signed, so are the Liberty. The two superteams will once again be favored to reach the Finals, and if they do, Stewart will hope she can ensure a better outcome for her side. The Liberty are one of three active teams without a title and the only remaining original franchise that hasn't won one.
