MVP chants rang out throughout Barclays Center on Tuesday night during the Liberty’s Game 2 semifinal matchup against the Sun, rattling the arena’s floors after an emphatic third-quarter block from Breanna Stewart brought a boisterous Liberty crowd to its feet. Rumbles of MVP have followed Stewart all season long, but this time it wasn’t a wishful chant, rather a statement of fact. Earlier that day, the New York star was announced as the 2023 WNBA MVP—the first Liberty player to receive the honor.
Brooklyn was certainly in a celebratory mood following the news, with Liberty great Teresa Weatherspoon narrating a video dedicated to Stewart that played over the scoreboard, New York players donning Stewie-themed warmup shirts and a pregame ceremony for the new MVP assembled at half-court. But, trailing Connecticut 0–1 in the series, there was more work to be done for Sandy Brondello’s team. Determined to keep the Stewie parade rain-free, the Liberty pulled out a gritty 84–77 victory, leveling the series as it heads to Mohegan Sun Arena.
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