83 Facts About Breanna Stewart

1.

Breanna Mackenzie Stewart was born on Baldwin; born August 27,1994 and is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association.

2.

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.

3.

Breanna Stewart 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.

4.

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

5.

Breanna Stewart was named the WNBA MVP in 2018 and was named an All-Star in 2017,2018 and 2021.

6.

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

7.

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

8.

When Breanna was a toddler, her mother began dating Brian Stewart; they eventually married, and several years later he adopted Breanna.

9.

Breanna Stewart began playing basketball at an early age; in fifth grade, she decided to improve her game.

10.

Breanna Stewart started a routine of dribbling around her block, wearing headphones.

11.

Breanna Stewart continued the routine almost every day, improving her ball handling to the point she routinely dribbled behind her back or between her legs.

12.

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

13.

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

14.

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

15.

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

16.

Breanna Stewart averaged 24 points and 15 rebounds for the season.

17.

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

18.

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

19.

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

20.

Breanna 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.

21.

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

22.

Breanna Stewart was one of six finalists for the Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year.

23.

Breanna Stewart had 33 points and 16 rebounds, but it was not enough to overcome the scoring of the eventual champion of the tournament.

24.

Breanna Stewart was viewed as an offensive threat in the low post, high post and perimeter, and was effective as a defender because of her long wingspan.

25.

Breanna Stewart ended the game with 22 points, 18 rebounds and seven blocks, despite leaving the game in the third period and not returning.

26.

Breanna Stewart's performance earned her the Most Outstanding Player award for the event.

27.

Some players sign at a media event organized to cover the ceremony; Breanna Stewart signed her letter on the hood of her car, then gave it to her father at his office to fax to the school.

28.

Breanna Stewart started her freshman year in strong form, scoring at least 20 points in three of her first four games.

29.

Breanna Stewart came back strong in the Big East tournament, with a total of 51 points, matching the number scored by Diana Taurasi in her tournament debut.

30.

Breanna Stewart did not play in the first round, due to a calf injury, but scored 105 points in the last five games, earning her the award of the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, the first freshman to win the award since 1987.

31.

Breanna Stewart continued her stellar play in her sophomore year; her coaches noticed that she was demanding the ball more often, something she occasionally did as a freshman, but usually only if she thought she was playing well.

32.

Breanna Stewart led the team at 19.4 points and 2.8 blocks per game, was second on the team with 8.1 rebounds per contest, and fourth on the squad at 49.7 percent shooting and her 291 field goals made was the third-highest single-season total in UConn annals.

33.

Breanna Stewart elevated nearly every aspect of her game during UConn's nine-game run through the postseason, averaging 18.1 points on 53.3 percent shooting to go along with 10.7 rebounds, and made 42.1 percent of her attempts from beyond the 3-point arc during postseason action.

34.

Breanna Stewart entered her senior year in 11th place on UConn's all-time scoring list with 1,960 career points, only 30 points behind Renee Montgomery's 10th-place total.

35.

Breanna Stewart was the first-ever unanimous pick for AP Player of the Year and the first-ever three-time AP Player of the Year.

36.

Breanna Stewart is the first NCAA basketball player ever to tally 400 assists and block 400 shots.

37.

Breanna Stewart was one of only six Huskies with at least 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

38.

Breanna Stewart finished her career second on UConn's all-time scoring list at 2,676 career points, fourth with 1,179 career rebounds, and first in blocks.

39.

Breanna Stewart was drafted first overall in the 2016 WNBA draft by the Seattle Storm.

40.

Breanna Stewart immediately made an impact in the league as she scored 23 points in her debut game against the Los Angeles Sparks.

41.

Breanna Stewart averaged 18.3 points per game, 9.3 rebounds per game and 1.8 blocks per game by the end of the 2016 season.

42.

Breanna Stewart swept the Rookie of the Month awards for the entire season leading up to her winning the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award by a landslide.

43.

Breanna Stewart broke the WNBA record for most defensive rebounds in a season with 277 defensive rebounds.

44.

Breanna Stewart won the 2016 ESPY Award for Best Female Athlete.

45.

Breanna Stewart won Best Women's College Basketball Player at the 2016 ESPYs.

46.

In 2017, Breanna Stewart continued to flourish after an impressive rookie season.

47.

Breanna Stewart was voted into the 2017 WNBA All-Star Game, making it her first career all-star game appearance.

48.

In 2018, Breanna Stewart would elevate her play to a superstar level.

49.

Breanna Stewart was voted into the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game for her second all-star game appearance.

50.

Breanna Stewart averaged 25.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.7 steals during the series.

51.

Breanna Stewart won Finals MVP, becoming the sixth player in league history to win both league MVP and Finals MVP in the same year.

52.

Breanna Stewart missed the entire 2019 WNBA season after suffering an injury while playing for Russian club Dynamo Kursk in the 2019 EuroLeague Women final on April 14 that was later confirmed to be a torn Achilles.

53.

Breanna Stewart returned to the US the day after the injury and underwent surgery in Los Angeles later that week.

54.

Breanna Stewart earned slightly more in that role than she would have as a player.

55.

In July 2020, Breanna Stewart returned to playing, rejoining her teammates at the IMG Academy for training.

56.

Breanna Stewart won her second title with the Storm in 2020 and was named the 2020 WNBA Finals MVP.

57.

On February 1,2023, Breanna Stewart signed with the New York Liberty in free agency.

58.

In June 2018, Breanna Stewart signed with Dynamo Kursk of the Russian Premier League and was later named MVP of the EuroLeague Women regular season.

59.

Breanna Stewart signed with Fenerbahce Safiport on 1 July 2022 for EuroLeague Women season.

60.

Breanna Stewart was selected to join the USA Basketball U16 team, at age 14, the youngest member of the team; all other team members were 15 or 16.

61.

Breanna Stewart helped the team win the gold medal in the First FIBA Americas U16 Championship for Women, held in Mexico City.

62.

Breanna Stewart continued with the USA team as it became the U17 team.

63.

In 2011, Breanna Stewart was selected to be on the USA Basketball U19 team.

64.

Breanna Stewart was one of the five players named to the all tournament team; Ariel Massengale was the other USA player to earn all tournament honors.

65.

Breanna Stewart competed for the United States at the 2011 Pan American Games.

66.

Breanna Stewart was the only high school player chosen for the 2011 Pan American team, and only the second high school player in Pan American team history for the USA teams.

67.

Breanna Stewart was named the 2011 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year.

68.

Breanna Stewart was the second youngest on the U19 team, yet led the team in points, rebounds and blocks, helping to lead her team to a gold medal at the international competition, and earning a position on the all-tournament team.

69.

Breanna Stewart occupies several spots in the U19 record books.

70.

Breanna Stewart was named to the Pan American team, only the second high school player from the US to receive such a bid.

71.

Breanna Stewart joined future UConn teammates Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck on the 12-player squad that competed in the 2012 FIBA Americas U-18 National Championship, held in August 2012, in Puerto Rico.

72.

Breanna Stewart was the youngest, and only high school player, on the 2011 USA Women's Pan American Games team, but was the player with the most international experience on the team.

73.

Breanna Stewart was awarded the MVP trophy as the best player in the FIBA Americas U18 competition.

74.

Breanna Stewart was named the USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year for the second time.

75.

Breanna Stewart was one of 33 finalists for the US Women's FIBA World Championship for Women Roster.

76.

Breanna Stewart was the only collegiate player out of 32 WNBA women's basketball players to be selected by the USA Basketball Women's National Team Player Selection Committee to compete for the final roster to represent the US at the FIBA World Championship for Women in Turkey during September and October 2014.

77.

Breanna Stewart made the final roster of 12 players, announced on September 23,2014.

78.

Breanna Stewart was a member of the USA Women's Pan American Team which participated in basketball at the 2015 Pan American Games held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada July 10 to 26,2015.

79.

Breanna Stewart won a gold medal with Team USA in 2016, in doing so joining Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, Ruth Riley, Tamika Catchings and fellow UConn alums Kara Wolters, Swin Cash, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, and Maya Moore on the elite list of female basketball players to have won NCAA titles, WNBA Championships and Olympic gold medals.

80.

Breanna Stewart again won gold at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo where she averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds per game and was named the Olympic Tournament's Most Valueble Player and to the FIBA's all-star five team.

81.

Breanna Stewart is married to former WNBA and current EuroLeague Spanish professional basketball player Marta Xargay, three times Eurobasket champion and silver medalist in both the Olympics and World Cup with the Spain national basketball team.

82.

Breanna Stewart proposed in May 2021 and they were married on July 6,2021, on the rooftop of Breanna Stewart's apartment building.

83.

In 2016, Breanna Stewart signed a multi-year endorsement deal with Nike until 2021.