Breanna Stewart

Breanna Mackenzie Stewart (born Baldwin; born August 27, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Fenerbahçe of the Women's Basketball Super League, Euroleague Women.

In high school, Stewart was the National Gatorade Player of the Year, the Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year, and a McDonald's All-American.

She led the University of Connecticut Huskies to four national championships, was named the Final Four's most outstanding player a record four times, and was a three-time consensus national player of the year.

Stewart achieved a milestone on January 31, 2012, when she scored her 2,000th point, as part of a 31–0 run against Auburn.

Stewart was selected as a member of the 2012 McDonald's All-American team, which represented the 24 best female high school basketball players.

The selected players were grouped into two squads that competed in the annual McDonald's All-American Game, held that year in Chicago.

Stewart was selected to the 2012 Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) High School Coaches' All-America Team.

The top 20 high school players in the country were named as WBCA All-Americans and were eligible to play in the all-star game.

She participated in the 2012 WBCA High School All-America Game, scoring 10 points.

Stewart was named the 2012 Naismith High School Girls' Player of the Year, the honor awarded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the best female high school basketball player in the country.

In March 2012, in a surprise presentation by Tamika Catchings, Stewart received the Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year award.

Stewart was the first overall pick in the 2016 WNBA draft and was named the 2016 WNBA Rookie of the Year.

As a member of the U.S. women's national team, Stewart has won gold medals in the 2016 and 2020 Olympics and at the 2014 and 2018 FIBA World Cup.

Stewart was born Breanna Mackenzie Baldwin in Syracuse, New York, to a single mother, Heather Baldwin.

Her biological father was not involved in her life, and her mother worked multiple jobs to support herself and her daughter.

When Stewart was a toddler, her mother began dating Brian Stewart, who later adopted Stewart after marrying Baldwin.

She has a younger half-brother, Connor.

Stewart began playing basketball at an early age.

Due to her height her coaches wanted her inside as a rebounder, but her father encouraged her to practice ball handling skills and a perimeter shooting ability.

She started a daily routine of dribbling around her block, wearing headphones, for a mile.

Her routine improved her ball handling to the point she routinely dribbled behind her back or between her legs.

Even after heading off to college, she still did the routine at home.

In a 2017 essay in The Players' Tribune, Stewart publicly revealed that she had been a victim of sexual abuse from age 9 to 11.

She reported the abuse to her parents, who immediately called police.

The perpetrator, who was married to her maternal aunt, confessed to the abuse and ultimately served prison time.

Stewart attended Cicero-North Syracuse High School (C-NS) in Cicero, New York, where she played for head coach Eric Smith.

She was nicknamed "Bean" by her teammates, and "6–10" because of her wingspan.

Stewart first played for the high school team while still in eighth grade.

She played as a starter in most games, and averaged nine points, almost nine rebounds and seven blocks per game.

In her freshman year, she almost doubled her point production, scoring 17 points per game.

That year, her team had a 21–3 record, and made it to the regional final game.

In her sophomore year, she was a starter in every game, and upped her scoring average to 22 points per game.

In that year, her team's record was 18–4.

As a junior, she helped lead her team to the state AA public school title, with a 22–3 record for the year.

Stewart averaged 24 points and 15 rebounds for the season.

During her junior year, she announced that she would be attending the University of Connecticut.

The day after the announcement, she dunked the ball in a game against Baldwinsville, her first career dunk.

She was named the WNBA MVP in 2018 and 2023, and was named an All-Star in 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

She led the Storm to two championships in 2018 and 2020, and received the WNBA Finals MVP award both times.

In 2021, Stewart was named to The W25 as one of the top 25 players of the WNBA's first 25 years.