UNCASVILLE — Even though she was in casual street clothes, including a red and white ringer tee that said the words “New York,” and was wearing Puma’s version of a skateboard shoe, Breanna Stewart was being watched by everyone.
And that includes the officials for the New York Liberty’s first preseason game against the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday. They knew exactly what she was up to despite not playing on the court. With their luggage in tow, the refs left Mohegan Sun Arena and addressed Stewart jokingly as one of the coaches.
“So you’re coaching now,” one of them quipped to Stewart. With her postgame meal in hand, she smiled as she acknowledged the group of officials heading out.
And they were right, Stewart did look like a coach in the Liberty’s 63-57 loss to the Connecticut Sun, a preseason game that didn’t feature Stewart, former Sun MVP Jonquel Jones or WNBA champion Courntey Vandersloot. During halftime, Stewart pulled her new teammate, the 23 year-old 6-foot-11 Chinese center, Han Xu, aside. She was giving her tips of how to read the defense and how she should hold and move the ball in response to pressure.
“I think just making sure that whenever I have something to say that I say it because I know that it’s going to help and trying to help the bigs, especially with Han, it’s just getting comfortable on the perimeter when they’re pressuring her and stuff like that,” Stewart said.
Planting the seeds and beginning those relationships with people that she doesn’t know that well is a part of what makes leaders successful. It’s a tool she learned from her teammate of many years with the Seattle Storm, fellow UConn legend Sue Bird.
Bird set the example and showed Stewart how she could be the ultimate professional by building relationships and having a proper routine. She wants her routine and how she prepares for every game and practice to speak just as loud as her voice. She wants Han and New York’s rookie forward, Nyara Sabally, to know what that all looks like and feels like.
“Knowing that experience of being able to win championships at multiple levels,” she said. “Now I’m fortunate to have done that because not a lot of people do, and I want to make sure that I’m able to kind of share that.”
The experience of winning a WNBA championship is a goal that new WNBA teammate and longtime friend Jones has been yearning for. How exactly does Stewart see two MVPs in both her and Jones sharing the floor together and being able to function in harmony rather than in competition?
The key component of a bond between two of the most versatile players in the world is their respect for each other and their individual games. Stewart is confident that the style of basketball she and Jones will be playing will allow both stars to get theirs.
“It’s gonna take a little bit of time to like, get back into it, but it’s the trust, really the respect and the trust and you know, that’s been there for a long time,” Stewart said.
When Stewart walked into Mohegan Sun for the first time with the New York Liberty it felt different. While she wasn’t in the Liberty’s seafoam, black-and-gold uniform, she was still taking in a brand new moment and a new chapter of her historic career.
Playing with New York will allow Stewart a chance to connect with the fans that have followed her throughout her entire collegiate career. With Commissioner’s Cup games being played throughout the first half of the regular season, Stewart will be making more than just one cross country trip to the state where she won four straight NCAA national championships.
“It’s nice to be back on this time zone,” she said.
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