No Sleep Till Brooklyn: WNBA Star Breanna Stewart Leaving Seattle For New York

By Barry Janoff

February 1, 2023: With a little help from Kevin Durant, Breanna Stewart has made a life-altering decision.

On the heels of Candace Parker leaving the Chicago Sky as a free agent to play for the defending champion Las Vegas Aces in 2023, WNBA all-time great Stewart said she is leaving the Seattle Storm as a free agent to play for the New York Liberty.

Stewart — born and raised in Syracuse in upstate New York — posted her decision to social media today with a photo of the Empire State Building, a TikTok clip of her wearing Liberty gear and the song “Empire State Of Mind” by Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys playing in the background — two days after Durant said he wanted to see her join the Liberty.

Although the deal has not yet been finalized, apparently, for Stewart, as Keys sings, “In New York, concrete jungles where dreams are made of/There’s nothing you can’t do/Now you’re in New York.”

By the start of the WNBA season in May, she might also be listening to the Beastie Boys’ “No Sleep Till Brooklyn.”

"It's been a roller coaster of emotions for sure, and I decided to go to New York because I want to continue to be great," Stewart, who met with four teams — the Liberty, Storm, Minnesota Lynx and Washington Mystics — told ESPN. "I want to go to the place where I can continue to help this league become better, to continue to raise the standard.

"I feel like, why not go to the biggest market in all of sports, and I'm really excited to go after their first championship . . . I’m ready. I’m anxious to get to work.”

Stewart, who was drafted No. 1 overall by the Storm in 2016 out of UConn and has spent her entire WNBA career in Seattle, joins a burgeoning Liberty roster that also includes 2020 No. 1 overall pick Sabrina Ionescu and the newly acquired Jonquel Jones, the 2021 WNBA MVP.

Stewart was the WNBA MVP in 2018 and a two-time WNBA champion: 2018 and 2020, being named Finals MVP both times.

"Stewie's free agency is the story of the WNBA at an inflection point: Players understand their value, the potential of the WNBA, and are eager partners in growing a business that has incredible momentum," Stewart's agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas (Wasserman), told ESPN in a statement.

"She owned the process and the responsibility that comes with power in ways that hopefully will impact how smart free agents of all genders approach similar opportunities."

Earlier this week, Stewart got a shout-out from Durant of the Brooklyn Nets, who said during a podcast on his Boardroom platform that he wanted to see Stewart play in New York.

"I hit (Breanna on social media) the other day, and I never do this, and was like, 'Yo, it would be an incredible dynasty in New York City if you came here . . . (The Liberty) are cooking up. They doing their thing. They’re bringing the best talent to New York . . . Stewie, come here. It’s gonna be ridiculous.”

The Liberty and Nets are both majority-owned by Joseph Tsai and both play in Barlays Center in Brooklyn.

Among her accolades, Stewart won four NCAA titles with UConn (2013-16), two Olympic gold medals with USA Basketball (2016 Rio, 2020 Tokyo) and was named to the WNBA’s 25th Anniversary last season.

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