Breanna Stewart had nearly a year to think about the 2023 WNBA Finals. There was how the series ended, of course, with her New York Liberty falling to the Las Vegas Aces—the forward had the ball in her hands, down by one, just seconds to go, and made the uncharacteristic choice to pass rather than shoot. She could only watch as their final shot failed to fall.
But there had been four games of frustration leading up to that last moment of disappointment. Stewart was notably limited against the Aces. The leading scorer in the regular season for the Liberty, she was held below her average in every game of the series, and she managed to lead her team in scoring just once in those Finals. She has tried not to dwell on it. Still: 11 months, one week and five days is a long time for a player as talented as Stewart to sit with a performance as frustrating as that one.
