Liberty's Breanna Stewart Shared the Fun at 31
BROOKLYN — For all her basketball prowess, only the concept of birthday gifts seems to stymie New York Liberty forward and newly-minted 31-year-old Breanna Stewart.
Stewart, whose special day lands on Wednesday, had a birthday party at Barclays Center two days prior, with over 15,000 of her friends assembled in the Brooklyn seating areas for the Liberty's week-opening tilt against the Connecticut Sun. Stewart's presence was the present, as the seven-time All-Star returned from a 13-game absence forced by a bone bruise on her knee.
Greeted by raucous cheers upon her re-entry, Stewart knew the loudest came from one seat, that occupied by her wife Marta Xargay.
"Marta's so happy that I'm back, because she says I've been grumpy, which I have," Stewart said with a laugh before the Sun's visit. "I want to play, but it's been cool to kind of be with [my family] just recover, like be in the hyperbaric chamber all the time. But, yeah, I'm over it. I'm over [the chamber]."
Stewart's gift-giving only continued, as she provided a Liberty-best 19 points in what became an 81-79 triumph over the pesky Sun. Returning to action by her birthday was a "non-negotiable" for Stewart, who upped the New York physicality by getting to the foul line 13 times in the win, hitting all but two on the road to victory.
She was nearly responsible for the most dire gift as a, in Stewart's words, "dumb decision" to pass backcourt with time running out led to a Leila Lacan turnover-turned-fastbreak that Kennedy Burke and Sabrina Ionescu cleaned up to prevent overtime.
But the 11 VIP guests at her party — her teammates — had special favors waiting, as they were the first to don the merchandise of her new "Stew York" fashion project, which gains the national treatment on, what else, her birthday. The New Yorkers gathered showed their appreciation by serenading Stewart with a singing of "Happy Birthday" during a rare practice in Barclays Center's lower levels on Wednesday.
Breanna Stewart gets Happy Birthday sang to her after practice for her 31st pic.twitter.com/FFjHMDtvQh
— Bridget Reilly (@bridgetbreilly) August 27, 2025
"A humble superstar, being a mother of two, the list goes on," lauded Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello, eager to secure a "Stew York" lid of her own. "She amazes me with what she's able to put into a calendar year."
"How professional she is in her preparation," Brondello continued. "Being out was hard for her. It was hard for us. But she loves the game, and she knows that she can help us ... Stew York. She came here for a reason. She's building this massive brand, and it's great for her to be the kind of person that she's getting in the spotlight in such a big city."
Stewart thus closes her 31st year in style both literally and figuratively: the past 365 days have been filled with triumph amidst tribulations, pricey padding to an already accomplished roundball resume. Such accolades, of course, begin with Stewart fulfilling her metropolitan purpose, leading the city to its first WNBA championship and down the Canyon of Heroes for its first ticker-tape parade held for a basketball team.
Stewart then put Finals differences with Minnesota Lynx star and fellow UConn alumna Napheesa Collier aside to bring about Unrivaled, a domestic three-on-three women's league meant to keep the greats of the game at home during the WNBA offseason.
The hype around Unrivaled was partly generated by a relieving sense of player control and empowerment compared to the actively icy situation in WNBA collective bargaining agreement talks, as each participating player owns a stake in the league while several others have acquired NIL deals within it.
Whether an agreement is reached in time for the 2026 season's tip-off remains to be seen. Stewart is poised to contribute to the enrichment of its participants in any event, whether its at the helm of Unrivaled or serving as one of the headliners at the players association's side of the table during negotiations.
"I think we're just looking to have a better conversation about salaries and revenue share and things like that, understanding that the valuations of these new franchises are coming in, the expansion fees are coming in, the TV deals are coming in," Stewart said after she and her fellow 2025 All-Stars wore "Pay Us What You Owe Us" shirts at the annual mid-summer exhibition. "There's a lot of money coming in, and we're not seeing that in the way that we want to, so I think it was a great opportunity for us to kind of wear those shirts, not to be overly demonstrative about it."
A season of giving is perhaps partly defined in a perfect manner: Stewart has shown an uncanny ability to run the point during her time in New York, averaging at least 3.5 assists per game in each of her three Liberty seasons to date after doing so just once in her six with Seattle.
She's had 31 years on the planet. Her sneakers boast just about a decade of professional experience. The good and bad have yielded something striking and new in Stewart's world, one that allowed her to further cement a legacy through both the conventional hardwood lens and the more desired personal level, which has seen her left the ideal impression on Marta, as well their children Ruby and Marta.
"I think that I'm just appreciating everything that I do," Stewart said in reflection on Monday. "I have it from a basketball perspective, like winning a WNBA championship, being able to celebrate and know the impact that we have on and off the court. Then I get a front row seat to my kids seeing and being a part of everything. So it's been an incredible year, and hopefully we'll top it off with a few more nice days."
Geoff Magliocchetti is a veteran sportswriter who contributes to a variety of sites on the "On SI" network. In addition to the Yankees/Mets, Geoff also covers the New York Knicks, New York Liberty, and New York Giants and has previously written about the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Staten Island Yankees, and NASCAR.