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Sep 19, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) dribbles against the Phoenix Mercury during the first half of game three of round one for the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at PHX Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Liberty's Breanna Stewart Reveals Toughest Career Loss

Originally posted on New York Liberty on SI
By Kenny Saint-Vil | Last updated Oct 3, 2025 12:00 PM ET

Breanna Stewart says the toughest loss of her career came in the 2023 WNBA Finals, when the New York Liberty fell to the Las Vegas Aces.

Stewart, the Liberty’s star forward and league MVP that season, reflected on the defeat as the first guest on Sean Evans’ new interview series One More Round.

“Hardest was when we lost in the finals to Vegas,” Stewart said. “My first year with New York, game four, playing back at Barclays, we just won one game. We need to win this one to keep ourselves alive. And I missed a game-winning shot, but just because of our back and forth, and history and all the emotions with Vegas, it was hard to get over that one. Getting back and working out after that was not easy.”

First We Feast

The loss marked the first time Stewart had been eliminated on a championship stage. At UConn, she won four straight NCAA titles and remains the only player to earn four Final Four Most Outstanding Player awards. As a professional, she is a two-time WNBA champion, two-time Finals MVP and two-time league MVP.

Her 2023 season in New York was historic. In her first year with the Liberty, Stewart became the team’s leading scorer and delivered the first regular-season MVP award in franchise history. The Liberty reached the WNBA Finals for the first time in more than a decade, igniting excitement around a team long searching for its breakthrough moment.

Brandon Todd / NY Liberty

Stewart also spoke about how her relationship with failure has changed during her career.

“I don’t ever want to fail. That’s like the number one thing that I don’t ever want to do, but it happens,” she said. “It’s almost embracing that, embracing failure, because you can’t win them all … but the way that I grow from that is what’s going to separate me from anybody else.”

Stewart and the Liberty bounced back the following year, delivering the franchise its first WNBA title. Although the team was unable to secure back-to-back championships this season, she emphasized that she wants more and is determined to keep winning in New York.

"I think what I'm chasing is just more especially now, like in the WNBA, we've been fortunate to win the first ever in Liberty history, but wanting to do it again, and wanting to show the fans that you know, this isn't just like a moment. We're continuing to make it a movement and what we do and setting the bar and the standard for everything, I feel like we're at such a pivotal point, and how can you not want to make it better?"

INBOX: Breanna Stewart sat down with Sean Evans for ONE MORE ROUND, a partnership with Bulleit & First We Feast to “deliver legendary conversations & tap into how they turn ambition into reality with the same relentless drive that goes into making Bulleit’s great whiskey.” ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/6KAjQketTz
— Myles (@MylesEhrlich) September 29, 2025