When Breanna Stewart signed with the New York Liberty in 2023, her primary aim was to bring the first WNBA title to New York. It only took her two seasons to do so. But if the Liberty thought that Stewart’s dream ended there, they could not be more wrong about the three-time champion. WNBA writer Sabreena Merchant is highlighting glaring holes in their lineup that are wasting Stewart’s prime.
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“I still think that there’s a lot of evaluation to do from the Liberty internally of like, do we have it? Is it just like we need somebody who’s going to demand accountability out of our best players on a regular basis that, for whatever reason, we have not been able to access the last two years,” Merchant said on the No Offseason podcast. “They need to get a better player or better set of players around Stewie, who I think is good enough to be one alpha on a championship team. It’s just that she doesn’t have the help around her.”
This season, Stewart was elite from the regular season to the playoffs. From offense to defense, she was their biggest star, averaging 20.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. She led her team in scoring, steals and blocks.
Stewart was equally dominant in the playoffs, putting together huge numbers across five games. In Game 1 against the No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx, the two-time MVP led her team to a win with 34 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
As the Liberty swept the Lynx with a Game 2 win, Stewart put up 21 points, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. While the Liberty lost to Atlanta in the semifinals, Stewart averaged 26.7 points and 2.3 blocks.
Stewart signed a 3-year contract with the Liberty just before the 2026 season. However, given how inconsistent the Liberty have been, if they don’t address their roster issues, the two-time Finals MVP might want to look elsewhere to add titles to her resume.
But according to Merchant, the issue went beyond the lineup. She questioned whether the Liberty could trust their Big 3 to bring another title to the city.
“My question is, when you’re evaluating this Liberty team, how much of it is that we haven’t been able to optimize all of our talent, or is our talent just not good enough to win a title anymore? Are Jonquel Jones, Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart a good enough big three to win a title, or do we need to invest in a better rim protector? Do we need to find more perimeter defense?” she asked the Liberty front office.
While Merchant questioned the overall lineup around Stewart, Annie Costabile and Zena Keita highlighted New York’s defensive issues.
“They need some defense. Liberty were seventh in defensive rating this season, but it just felt like even in the games where they could put the ball up, [their defense wasn’t helpful],” Keita said. “They have depth, but they really struggled. When it came to stopping folks, they didn’t have an answer.”
The Liberty gave up 86.4 points per game in the 2026 season, which was 7th in the league. It was second-worst among the playoff teams, just behind the Indiana Fever.
Costabile focused on the Liberty’s defensive issues in their backcourt lineup. She specifically pointed to Sabrina Ionescu as a defensive liability against good offensive teams.
“Their backcourt was not athletic enough to keep up with some of the best backcourts in the league. I think that was a very real issue in the Atlanta Dream semi-final series. Sabrina obviously dealt with injuries this year,” Costabile added. “So I think that’s a question of how healthy Sabrina is, and you know she’s going to have this offseason to rehab and get better. But even Sabrina at 100% is not the answer to their defensive issues.”
The Liberty need to use their offseason with heightened deliberation. They must hire a defensive-minded head coach now that they have fired Chris DeMarco. Moreover, they need to make hard decisions about Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally. The team can trade them to bring in good pieces to maximize Stewart.