Breanna Stewart Calls Out Liberty for Lack of WNBA Championship Mindset
Most members of the women's basketball community pegged the New York Liberty as a favorite to win a WNBA championship in 2025. Of course, one reason for this is that they're defending champions, for the Liberty secured the franchise's first title in 2024.
Not to mention that their roster is stacked with elite talent, including former WNBA MVPs Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, along with Sabrina Ionescu, Leonie Fiebich, and guard Natasha Cloud, whom New York acquired right before the season. They also added European stars Marine Johannes and Emme Meesseman, which convinced the league that New York's roster was vastly improved from their championship 2024 campaign.
Then the Liberty started the season off with a 9-0 record and seemed to be firing on all cylinders. New York suffered its first defeat against the Indiana Fever on June 14, and since then, the wheels have seemingly begun to fall off.
The Liberty's record fell to 24-16 after their 17-point loss to the Phoenix Mercury on August 30. Therefore, New York now has a losing record since that nine-game winning streak to start 2025. Given this fall from grace, there is some clear concern about where the Liberty stand as a team, and whether they'll be able to compete once the postseason arrives.
Breanna Stewart Calls Team Out After Mercury Loss
Injuries have undoubtedly played a factor in New York's struggles this season, as Ionescu is currently out with a toe issue and Stewart missed several weeks with a knee injury before recently returning. However, Stewart isn't seeing this as an excuse, which she made very clear when speaking with the media after Saturday's loss to the Mercury.
"I think what was said [in the Liberty locker room after the game] is, it's not good enough. It's not gonna cut it. Any of the things that we've done today — and honestly, for a while — is not gonna get us to where we want to be," Stewart said, per an X post from SNY.
"This is not championship-level basketball at this point, and everybody needs to recognize that and understand that we need to get there. And that starts with the mindset, and then putting it onto the court," she added.
"This is not championship-level basketball at this point and everybody needs to recognize that and understand that we need to get there and that starts with the mindset and then putting it onto the court."
— New York Liberty Videos (@SNYLiberty) August 31, 2025
- Breanna Stewart after last night's loss pic.twitter.com/c46cmjIp7m
It will be fascinating to see whether the Liberty can right the ship in time for the playoffs, or if they'll continue to struggle against the league's other top teams.
As it currently stands, New York would be the league's No. 5 seed and would be facing the Mercury in the first round.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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