Breanna Stewart just led the New York Liberty to victory against the league’s top-seeded team, the Minnesota Lynx, pushing the team to sixth place on the leaderboard. While doing so, Stewart established another personal milestone, which had even the NBA taking notice of the ten-season veteran.
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Breanna Stewart dropped the highest score on either team, and in doing so, crossed Seattle Storm legend Sue Bird’s all-time scoring record. Bird, who is a 13-time WNBA All-Star and four-time champion, previously held ninth place on the all-time scoring leaderboard, with 6,803 points over 19 seasons with the Seattle Storm. Stewart, rewriting history, surpassed Bird in just 10 seasons, with her last outing against the Lynx pushing her to 6,804 points. The NBA reacted to the milestone, amplifying Stewart’s achievement with a single-word message.
“Congrats, @breannastewart!”
Prior to this, the WNBA and espnW also posted about Breanna Stewart’s historic achievement. Stewie opened the game against the Lynx with a 24-foot three-pointer nine minutes into the first quarter, assisted by Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu. She followed this with eight more points in the first half of the game despite the Lynx taking a one-point lead in the first quarter.
Stewart then went on to catch fire in the second half, adding another 13 points. The point that earned her the ninth spot on the all-time scoring list came with just under 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Stewart was fighting for the ball while being guarded by Lynx’s Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride. She wrestled the ball from Collier and bagged a running layup to make the score 82-77. Stewart did not stop there, as she made another two-pointer with 1:33 left on the clock on another assist from Ionescu.
Breanna Stewart ended the night with 24 points, shooting 8-of-17 from the field, including 2-of-3 three-pointers. She also added 10 rebounds and four assists, recording her 11th double-double this season. However, this wasn’t the only record she achieved.
The New York Liberty posted on their X that Breanna Stewart is now fourth on the list of most field goals in Liberty history. With her latest outing, Stewie reached 1,048 field goals, which puts her above Cappie Pondexter, who previously held fourth with 1,047. The only players who are still above Stewie in the franchise are Tina Charles (1,497), Vickie Johnson (1,245), and Sabrina Ionescu (1,144).
One can only wonder what Bird thought of being surpassed on the list of all-time scorers! But Bird also shares a connection with Stewart.
Bird and Stewart played together on the Seattle Storm roster for seven seasons, even winning two championships in 2018 and 2020. Stewart was drafted by the Storm in 2016 with the first overall pick out of UConn. She joined a veteran Bird who was already the top dog on the roster. In their first year playing together, both started all 34 games, with Stewart averaging 18.3 PPG, outscoring Bird, who averaged 12.8 PPG.
More recently, Bird, who is the managing director for USA Basketball, picked Breanna Stewart as part of the American squad for the 2026 FIBA World Cup. Bird’s choice turned out to be perfect, as Stewart took the team to the ultimate glory.
Breanna Stewart Leads Team USA to Fifth Consecutive FIBA Gold Before Return to WNBA
Breanna Stewart led from the front as the captain of Team USA. As the floor general, she directed veteran play while also supporting the younger core to make a significant impact. Under her leadership, Team USA cruised to the finals with a clean 5-0 record before beating France in an intense 97-79 game to clinch their fifth FIBA gold in a row. This win brings USA’s total FIBA victories to 12, establishing them as the most dominant team in international women’s basketball.
Stewart’s impact was undeniable, as she was the most consistent player on the American squad. She became the team’s scorer across their games against Czechia, Spain, and France, logging 19, 16, and 22 points, respectively, to push the team to victory. Among the players who played six games across the tournament, Stewart was fourth on the list for the most total points, with 77.
Across FIBA 2026, Stewart averaged 12.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. The eight-time WNBA All-Star led Team USA in three of the six key metrics FIBA mentions on its website. She topped the list for efficiency (18.8), points per game (12.8), as well as rebounds (7.3). She was followed on efficiency and PPG by Jackie Young, who averaged 13.7 EFFPG and 12.3 PPG.
Stewart’s efficiency is what led to her being named the 2026 FIBA World Cup MVP. She scored an impressive 55.3% from the field, including 56.8% from two and 33.3% from three. Her free-throw accuracy was marvellous, at 75%.
This latest win brings Breanna Stewart’s total World Cup gold count to four, making her only the second player in WNBA history to have this many. Notably, the other player is Sue Bird!
She has now returned to the WNBA and led the Liberty to another win. Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty will now look to win the remaining three games on their regular-season schedule to add another WNBA championship trophy to their cabinet.