When Breanna Stewart signed with the New York Liberty during the 2023 offseason, she instantly rocketed the franchise into contention.

After 26 years of existence, one of the WNBA’s founding teams has yet to win a title. But when Stewart joined Jonquel Jones and Courtney Vandersloot as key additions in New York this season, suddenly that first championship seemed not just possible, but likely.

To New York, Stewart brought her immense talent and a winning culture, having won two WNBA championships and two Finals MVP awards with the Seattle Storm. The Liberty needed both, and Stewart has been even better than advertised.

Early in the season, as Jones nursed an injury and the Liberty learned to play together, Stewart kept them afloat, coming out of the gate with 45 points in her home debut. Now, Stewart is one of three leading candidates for the WNBA MVP award — to be announced on Sept. 26 — and New York is poised for a championship run.

Stewart is averaging 23 points per game, a mark that is both second in the WNBA this season and a career-high for the 29-year-old during her seven-year career. She’s also averaging 9.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.5 steals per game, doing a little bit of everything for the Liberty. The forward finished second to Jewell Loyd for the 2023 scoring title and all-time single-season record, recording 919 total points this season. On Tuesday, she was named AP Player of the Year, beating out A’ja Wilson by one vote.

When in doubt, look to @breannastewart 👌

Breanna Stewart led the Liberty to their 8th straight dub, shooting lights out in the first half of the game, and finishing with 25 PTS, 6 REB, and 3 AST#MoreThanGame pic.twitter.com/bTtEWarxhH

— WNBA (@WNBA) September 8, 2023

Stewart also makes her teammates better, something that drew Vandersloot, a 2021 WNBA champion and five-time All-Star, to sign with New York and add another piece to the “superteam” puzzle.

“I think she is one of the best players in the world,” Vanderlsoot said of Stewart, after a Liberty win over the Sun in June. “She makes my job easy. She elevates my game, holds me to a high standard. That was a huge part of my decision to come here. I wanted to play with someone who would do that. She does that on a nightly basis. She is just special. She just performs every single night.”

The No. 1 overall pick of the Storm in 2016, Stewart helped the team win titles in 2018 and 2020 while also being named WNBA MVP in 2018 after averaging 21.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals that season. This year, Stewart is better in every category than she was in 2018.

This historic season in New York only adds to Stewart’s legacy and that of the Liberty, which was the goal from the day she signed. Winning another MVP award — especially over the likes of Wilson, the Las Vegas star and reigning MVP, and triple-double leader Alyssa Thomas — would make her move to the city that much sweeter.

“I decided to go to New York because I want to continue to be great,” she told ESPN at the time of her signing. “And I want to go to the place where I can continue to help this league become better, to continue to raise the standard. And 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.”

The quest for a championship starts Friday, as the No. 2 seed Liberty take on the Washington Mystics in the first round. New York finished the regular season with a 32-8 record.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

Teams around the WNBA are under pressure to finalize their 12-player rosters before Monday's league-enforced deadline.

Teams must cut their 2024 rosters down to just 12 spots from as many as 18 training camp players. And while this year’s WNBA draft class is undoubtedly rife with talent, only 18 draftees remain rostered ahead of Monday's final cuts. Last year, just 15 of the league’s 36 draftees made it onto their team’s opening-day squad. 

And it's not just rookies. Veteran players are also on the chopping block, even former title-winners: On Thursday, the Minnesota Lynx waived 2021 WNBA champ Ruthy Hebard.

But with every wave of cuts, players that survive dismissal inch closer to claiming a coveted roster spot. The Las Vegas Aces have already reached that magic number 12, opening the door for draft picks Dyaisha Fair and Kate Martin to stay on with the reigning champs.

Additionally, Dallas has whittled their training camp group down to 12. Fifth overall pick Jacy Sheldon and undrafted rookie Jaelyn Brown continue to remain in the mix. 

Other teams, meanwhile, still have decisions to make. Seattle currently lists 13 players, while others like New York still have a full 18 players in training camp. It’s likely that the final preseason game will tip roster decisions one way or another as coaching staffs continue to evaluate performance and playing time. 

But being cut doesn't mean the end of the road for everyone. Should players be waived, they can still be signed to short-term hardship contracts with teams carrying injured players on their permanent rosters. 

The 2024 WNBA season kicks off on Tuesday, May 14th.

Two NWSL teams avoided some major setbacks on Thursday, as both Portland’s Morgan Weaver and Orlando’s Angelina were cleared of season-ending injuries after undergoing scope procedures earlier this week. 

Angelina has been described by her club as "week-to-week," while Weaver has been placed on Portland’s 45-day injury list. 

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The Thorns won their May 4th game without Weaver 2-1, continuing their season turnaround, while the Pride remain one of two unbeaten teams in the NWSL.

In other injury list news, Christen Press posted a video on Thursday of her running with a trainer and doing drills, providing further updates on her road back from a June 2022 ACL tear.

🚨CHRISTEN PRESS IS SHOOTING AND RUNNING 🤩

(yes, we're freaking out)

🎥: @ChristenPress pic.twitter.com/BUjIyzj4xh

— The Women's Game (@WomensGameMIB) May 9, 2024

Angel City coach Becki Tweed has told reporters that Press is back with the team, but has not issued a timetable for her return to the field.

A group led by Toronto billionaire Larry Tanenbaum will bring a new WNBA franchise to Canada, CBC Sports reported early this morning. 

Set to begin play in 2026, the team will be owned and operated by Tanenbaum's Kilmer Sports Inc. Tanenbaum is a minority owner and chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Toronto Maple Leafs, Raptors, Toronto FC, Argos, and Marlies. He originally explored an expansion team via MLSE, but was turned down by other members of the board. 

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The Toronto addition will be the WNBA's 14th team. It follows the Bay Area's WNBA Golden State, which will debut in 2025. 

An official announcement is expected May 23rd in Toronto, according to reports. 

"We continue to engage in productive conversations with interested ownership groups in a number of markets but have no news to report at this time," a WNBA spokesperson said in a statement. Tanenbaum's Kilmer Sports group, meanwhile, told CBC Sports that his organization has “no update at this time.”

In April, commissioner Cathy Engelbert said that Toronto was among the cities being considered for WNBA expansion.

The WNBA has a growing footprint in Canada, as the league's held wildly successful exhibition games north of the US border for the last two seasons. 

In 2023, a preseason matchup between Chicago and Minnesota sold out Toronto’s 19,800-capacity Scotiabank Arena. This past Saturday, the league drew more than 16,000 fans to Edmonton for a preseason showdown between LA and Seattle.

The Toronto team will reportedly play at Coca-Cola Coliseum, an 8,000-seat arena which is currently home to the Marlies as well as Toronto’s PWHL franchise.

The Las Vegas Aces took to the White House yet again on Thursday to celebrate their 2023 WNBA championship victory. 

The decorated team was hosted by President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and First Lady Jill Biden, marking the first time the Bidens have welcomed the team personally.

Last year, Harris hosted the Aces after the Bidens were unable to attend due to a last minute conflict. Harris applauded the team for their 2022 win, pointing to the "grit and determination" they showcased en route to their WNBA Finals win over Connecticut. 

President Biden is ready to PLAY! 🤣

The @LVAces presented personalized jerseys for the @POTUS and @VP 🔥 pic.twitter.com/vm8iWbMpxj

— WNBA (@WNBA) May 9, 2024

The Aces won back-to-back championships in 2023, becoming the first WNBA franchise to repeat the feat since 2002. More impressively, they did so without 2022 Finals MVP Chelsea Gray and center Kiah Stokes, both of whom were sidelined with injuries for the title-clinching Game 4. Star forward A’ja Wilson ended up claiming the 2023 Finals MVP honors.

Following the team’s White House visit, the Aces will visit Wilson’s alma mater South Carolina for an exhibition game against the Puerto Rico women's national basketball team. According to head coach Becky Hammon, the unconventional matchup came about when other WNBA teams lacked interest in facing the reigning champs in preseason play.

"We just started kind of building from there," Hammon told the Las Vegas Review Journal. "It’s really cool for players to go home, and that’s where she’s from. She’s the centerpiece of our whole organization."

Kelsey Plum jokingly called Wilson the "mayor of South Carolina" before citing the trip as an opportunity to build team chemistry ahead of their season opener against Phoenix on Tuesday.

"We have some new pieces, and we’re just trying to figure out where our rhythm is," Plum said, referring to recent roster prospects like Iowa grad Kate Martin, among others. "Because when the season starts, it happens fast."