Modest applause greeted two-time Most Valuable Player awardee Breanna Stewart upon her return to the city that launched her WNBA career. Seattle had been her home since being chosen first overall in the 2016 draft, and it embraced her as she climbed her way to the top of the pro scene. Seven years and two titles later, her decision to move to New York evidently shook fans enough to withhold the affection they had for her throughout her run as the Storm’s cornerstone. All the same, she battled a roller coaster of emotions that engulfed her and required introspection at halftime.
In any case, Stewart was back to her usual devastating self after the break; any thoughts the far-less-than-capacity crowd of 8,340 elicited from her gave way to the clinical precision with which she approached her craft. En route to providing the Liberty with a third straight victory (and the Storm, not coincidentally, with a third straight defeat), she filled her stat line anew. And though the season is merely a tenth done, her performances to date indicate her capacity to buck predictions that, in joining a so-called “superteam,” she would be sacrificing her numbers. In fact, Stewart has normed career highs across the board to date. As the rest of the league gets into shape and the Liberty learn to play with each other and to their strengths more, it’s fair to argue that she will regress to the mean sooner rather than later. That said, there are few that can approximate her “average” self, as underscored by Storm head coach Noelle Quinn in unabashedly referring to her as “best player in the world.” No doubt, the assessment was also on the mind of surefire Hall of Famer Sue Bird, who was at the Climate Pledge Arena to welcome her back.
It’s anybody’s guess as to whether the Liberty can book a ticket to the Finals for the first time since 2002, let alone claim their first-ever title. As star-studded as they may be, the speed with which they build esprit de corps figures to determine their fate. As things stand, the Aces retain the upper hand, with an equally deep roster, a proven brain trust, and championship experience to boot. In the final analysis, however, the green and black have one advantage over the opposition: They have Stewart. Enough said.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
