New York got its first look at the city’s vaunted superteam Sunday.
The festivities in Brooklyn began with a message from new addition Breanna Stewart, who took center court to tell the Barclays Center crowd, “It’s good to be home.”
The spotlight stayed on Stewie after tipoff, with the star forward hammering the Fever early, dishing a dime down low to fellow 2023 acquisition Jonquel Jones. She went on to sink four of her five attempted threes in the opening frame. Stewart logged a staggering 29 points in the first half, nearly outscoring the entire Fever team (35 points), and ended the afternoon with a career-high 45 points—behind a career-high three-pointers made (six)—breaking the Liberty’s all-time scoring record.
Shortly after she reached 45 points, chants of “MVP” started to ring out. The new-look Liberty’s coronation quickly evolved into Stewie madness.
“When you get in those moments, it just feels like everything is going in,” said Stewart. “It was really important to play like this in my debut, because I want people to be here and I want them to come back and I want more.”
It was a dream start to the Liberty’s home campaign, giving supporters a taste of what could be to come with this superteam, while also providing 2023’s No.1 draft pick Aliyah Boston—and a young Indiana team—a rude awakening. They walloped the Fever, 90–73.
“We have Breanna Stewart and they don’t, I suppose. That’s what it comes down to,” said Liberty coach Sandy Brondello.
It may have been all Stewie on Sunday afternoon, but she was sharing the stage with Sabrina Ionescu, who just signed a multiyear extension with the Liberty. The the 25-year-old guard enjoyed rapturous applause as the last name announced in New York’s starting lineup—cementing her franchise-player status. While Ionescu wasn’t pouring in buckets like Stewie, she did nearly hit a triple double, notching nine points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
With such a star-studded roster, the stacked starting five of Stewart, Jones, Ionescu, veteran guard Courtney Vandersloot and forward Betnijah Laney, who’s in her third season with the Liberty, will have to get comfortable swapping roles game to game, servicing whoever has the hot hand.
“Stewie had 45 today. That could be Sabrina next game, and I think that’s the luxury we have,” said Brondello. “Sabrina is one of the smartest players I know, and I think she facilitated extremely well and she’s going to get her shots. She’s going to get her nights where she scores more points than giving out assists.”
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Chemistry has been the biggest question mark heading into New York’s season, as Stewart, Jones and Vandersloot continue to integrate with their new team. Limited time in preseason camp didn’t help matters, with Jones dealing with a foot injury, Vandersloot in concussion protocol and Stewart resting after a taxing overseas season with her team in Turkey. Brondello warned during preseason camp that the squad would have to use the first few weeks of the regular season as a training camp of sorts.
Those growing pains were evident in New York’s season-opening trip to Washington, D.C., where the team endured a 80–64 thumping at the hands of the more seasoned Mystics. In that game Stewart recorded just 12 points, shooting 3-of-10 from the field. It was important for her to respond in front of a home crowd.
“Having your first game be a loss, there is no reason to panic. There’s a lot we can continue to get better on and build on, but making sure that the way that I come out and I continue to prepare myself and I try to lead this team is what’s most important,” said Stewart. “Sometimes that’s being aggressive, setting the tone and throwing the first punch, and the second and third, and then everybody else is like, ‘Yeah, this what we do.’”
Stewart’s family and friends were among the sold-out crowd of 8,575, with the Syracuse native describing her Brooklyn premiere as a homecoming of sorts. Part of the reason Stewart made the move to the Liberty from the Storm was to “push the needle,” drawing eyeballs to the WNBA, fans to games and Liberty supporters to Brooklyn. Sunday’s home opener easily eclipsed the Liberty’s 2022’s average attendance of 5,327.
With its first home contest down, New York officially has its superteam, and undeniably its superstar in Stewart. And if Sunday is any indication of how Stewie’s next phase will unfold, it should be entertaining—if nothing else.
Over enduring chants of “MVP” drowning out her on-court postgame interview, Stewart offered her parting words to the Brooklyn crowd: “Feels like I made the right decision.”
