Liberty’s Breanna Stewart Returning to Unrivaled

Some form of seafoam season will tip-off in January even if the New York Liberty’s official return is delayed by ongoing labor negotiations.

Unrivaled has announced that Breanna Stewart will once again take to its South Beach floor come January, hosting the league’s co-founder against as it embarks on a second season.

Stewart formed the domestic three-on-three league, which debuted last winter, alongside fellow UConn alumna and 2024 WNBA Finals foe Napheesa Collier. The league is poised to pick up the slack in the professional women’s basketball department if collective bargaining agreement discussions in the WNBA prove lasting.

Stewart, who just wrapped up her third year in New York, doesn’t appear to know the meaning of offseason, as she’ll once again do offseason battle with her contemporaries. Stewart was a part of Mist BC during the debut showing in Miami, working alongside fellow 2024 Liberty champion Courtney Vandersloot and current Los Angeles Sparks star Rickea Jackson, whose return to the league was announced in the first batch earlier this week.

Stewart apparently plans to be at full strength come the new calendar year after an injury-riddled 2025 campaign.

The two-time WNBA MVP had a minor meniscus procedure in between the Unrivaled and WNBA campaigns back in March and later dealt with a bone bruise on her knee shortly after the W’s All-Star break (which saw her rep the Liberty alongside Sabrina Ionescu, another Unrivaled dual-threat). Her injury was one of several that the Liberty endured in its starting lineup, and New York’s 5-8 posting while she was out partly contributed to its fall to fifth on the WNBA playoff bracket.

More recently, Stewart endured a sprained MCL in recent three-game postseason tilt against the Phoenix Mercury, though she was the Liberty’s undeniable star in its eventual finale: though New York couldn’t stave off elimination in Phoenix, Stewart put up a 30-point, 9-rebound tally to keep the Liberty in the game, which saw her score each of the team’s final 14 points in the in fourth quarter. Stewart followed that showing up by affirming her commitment to New York for the 2026 WNBA campaign.

With seven participants shown as of press time, Unrivaled is gradually revealing its 48-woman lineup over eight business days. In addition to Jackson, Paige Bueckers, Saniya Rivers, and Erica Wheeler, as well as recent New York playoff foes and Unrivaled returnees Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas were confirmed to be a part of it at the tip-off of introductions this week.

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