A Life In 3 Questions With Breanna ‘Stewie’ Stewart
Two-time WNBA MVP, Olympic champion and Unrivaled co-founder Breanna Stewart on refusing to settle, learning to say no and the three rules she lives by
Breanna Stewart (known almost universally as Stewie) has led an incredible life. There are plenty of athletes with an accumulation of trophies, but Stewart’s mantle boasts more than most. By the time she left the University of Connecticut in 2016, she had won four consecutive NCAA championships and become the first person to be named the NCAA tournament’s Most Outstanding Player four times.
She followed this up with an almost unfathomable continuation of her winning streak. The number-one pick in the 2016 WNBA draft, Rookie of the Year in her first season, a three-time WNBA champion, twice with Seattle Storm and, in 2024, with New York Liberty, delivering the latter its first championship in franchise history. Oh, and then there are her Olympic medals too, having won with Team USA at Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.
She could have retired a happy woman a long time ago. And yet, in 2023, she and fellow WNBA star Napheesa Collier founded Unrivaled, a three-on-three professional women’s basketball league designed around the players themselves, including giving those in it an equity stake in the business.
Here, she shares a little bit of her winning formula for life.
What are you building right now?
With Unrivaled, we wanted to create a space that was really focused on the players – and backed the players. The generation before us had to go overseas to supplement their income because it isn’t viable to only get paid for four or five months of the year. We wanted to create somewhere players could come together and work on being their best, because the only way you get better is by being around the best.
What I hope the next generation takes from this is: don’t settle. We’re on this crazy trajectory, from where women’s basketball was to where it is now – and hopefully to where it’s going to be. But even now, the money looks great, but it can be so much better. The awareness, appreciation and value are great, but they can be even better too.
When I first came into the WNBA, the players before me never settled. They were always fighting for more. And so, even though we are getting more now, we have to continue to stand on business, stand for our brand and hold the standard high.
I think about that with my kids, too. I want Ruby and Theo to grow up and be whatever they want to be. It’s cool to have a young boy and a young girl looking up to me and seeing that the potential is limitless. They see me, they see my wife, Marta, who is a former player, and they see all these other incredible people around us. There are so many role models for them to look up to.
What have you outgrown?
When I was younger, I thought you became successful, and then you were set. Now I know that when you accomplish something, it’s almost like an addiction. You immediately think: How can I do it again? How can I do it better? How can I do it bigger?
It’s hard for me because I’ve had an insane amount of winning – it’s insane. But I’ve had to learn that winning isn’t the be-all and end-all. There are going to be times when you don’t win; and it’s the way you learn from those losses, mistakes or bad plays that keeps you moving forwards.
I’ve also learned to focus on controling what I can control. As a basketball player, there is a lot that I can control on the court, but sometimes there is stuff that I can’t. I can do everything I can to help my team win, but not to the point where I lose focus on the long term.
And I’ve outgrown the feeling that I have to say yes to everything. As I’ve become more comfortable in my own skin and really grown into being a professional, I’ve learned that you can’t [say yes]. You learn what is actually important to you. Figuring out how to say this two-letter word, “no”, can be really intimidating, but it’s also a point of strength and an acknowledgement of who you are.
What do you know for sure?
One thing I would tell my younger self is: enjoy the moment you’re in.
When you’re so focused on a goal, you can spend an entire season thinking about winning a championship – and then the actual moment of winning it is so short compared with the build-up. It has made me realize how important it is to enjoy the now and enjoy the present.
I also know now that the most important thing about being a leader, for me, is leading by example. If I’m not doing it first, I can’t ask somebody else to do it. I always want to be direct, but you also have to earn and build trust.
And different people need different things. Not all of my teammates are the same, and they shouldn’t be treated as though they are. I want them to help me too. I want the help and the criticism just as much as anybody else does. There has to be two-way respect.
There are three things I try to follow as a guide to life. I try to be present. I try to control what I can control. And the last one is the big one: I try to detach from judgement.
There will always be opinions. There will always be people who just want something to talk about. Unless they’re in your inner circle, it doesn’t really matter.