Team USA had shown cracks against Italy in the group stage and then Spain in the semifinals. So, when they fell behind 14 points against France early in the first half, it looked like France might finally break through those cracks. Yet, when the stakes were the highest, Breanna Stewart stepped up to guide her team out of troubled waters.
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After the win, Stewart sat on the podium with the United States flag wrapped around her, and head coach Kara Lawson’s described Stewart’s invaluable contribution as a leader.
“She is USA Basketball,” Lawson told reporters during the postgame conference after the gold medal win against France, per Alexa Philippou of ESPN.
“When you think of the last 15 years, it’s Stewie, and we’re just really lucky to be a part of her era of this group.”
Stewart won her fourth gold medal on Sunday in Berlin. She is now tied with Sue Bird for the most gold medals in the FIBA World Cup. She has appeared in 26 games in the World Cup and remains undefeated. On Sunday, she also won her second FIBA World Cup MVP, more than any player in history. She has also won three gold medals and an MVP at the Olympics.
While the WNBA star’s on-court achievements remain incomparable, her leadership should not ever take a backseat. Lawson added that Stewart was the “greatest winner” that America had because of her willingness to win at all costs.
“Her leadership, not just tonight, throughout the whole tournament, helping to guide the younger players, talk to them, just show them what it looks like to win…”
“The thing that I appreciate about her the most is her willingness to do anything to help the team. It’s so rare in a player of her caliber… She will play any position for us to win.”
Lawson added that in the last two games, Stewart even took point guard responsibility to help her team win. The WNBA star led her team in points, rebounds and efficiency. No one deserved the MVP award more than her. She averaged 12.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in six games.
Aside from her international achievements, she has won four NCAA titles, four NCAA tournament MOPs, three WNBA titles and two WNBA Finals MVPs. Stewart has been successful on every level she has played basketball, and it’s largely because of the confidence she has in herself.
“It’s like an unrealistic confidence that I have in myself, especially when in those big moments. I believe that I always have a chance to win no matter what happens in the game.”
The Americans were in deep trouble against France in the gold medal game. They were down by as much as 14 points in the second quarter. However, after Team USA cut the lead to two points by the end of the second quarter, they dominated the game and outscored the opponents by 18 points in the third quarter before crushing the Europeans by 97-79.
While her teammates struggled, Stewart continued to supply points to her team and keep them in competition. She ended the game with a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double and 4 assists. In a time when the WNBA world is dominated by the best-player conversation between Caitlin Clark and A’ja Wilson, Stewart sent a gentle reminder that she should not be taken lightly.
“I think sometimes you get used to seeing excellence all the time and you get complacent… You see the way she competes, the way she finishes the ball, the way she brings the team together. Things like this don’t happen by accident,” Wilson’s Las Vegas Aces teammate Chelsea Gray said.
The 10-year veteran star has been elite since college. The gold medal game performance was just a testament to how elite she can really be when the stakes are high. Stewart deserves all the accolades and praise from her coaches and her teammates because her impact went beyond the basketball court.