Breanna Stewart seeks redemption in second straight WNBA Finals apperance

New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart has a golden opportunity to complete her redemption tour as the franchise aims for its first championship when the WNBA Finals tip off Thursday.

The Liberty lost to the Las Vegas Aces in the Finals last year, Stewart’s first season with the team. Stewart, a former No. 1 overall pick, struggled during the postseason run, averaging career playoff worsts in points per game and field-goal percentage. She especially struggled in the championship round, averaging only 16.3 points per game on 36.2% shooting from the field.

Her playoff run last year was marred by personal tragedy, however, as her father-in-law died only three days before the start of the Finals — and a few weeks before the birth of her second child.

As for her team, the Finals loss was New York’s fifth defeat in five appearances, making the Liberty the holder of two ignominious titles: the franchise with the most Finals appearances without a win and the only original WNBA franchise without a championship.

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Stewart has bounced back this postseason, increasing both her scoring average to 20.0 points per game and her field-goal percentage to 43.3%.

And she has also already earned a measure of revenge, as the Liberty knocked out Las Vegas en route to the Finals. Not only did the Aces win last year’s series, but coach Becky Hammon also mocked Stewart for her subpar performance in the closeout game during the championship celebration.

“Three-for-17 is you need to talk about it” Hammon told Las Vegas guard Kelsey Plum during the celebration, referring to Stewart’s shooting stats in the eliminating loss.

This year, Stewart returned the knockout — one year and one day after her father-in-law’s passing.

“No matter what, it’s a really tough time,” Stewart said the night New York clinched a Finals berth. “And just the way the series went last year, kind of going through all of that and making sure this year is different. Marta [Stewart’s wife] and I talk about doing everything her dad would want us to do. And, you know, I have receipts on the things that were said — the entire team does. My mentality today was to go in and get this win for my wife and her dad.”

To complete her storybook run, Stewart — already a two-time Finals MVP with the Seattle Storm in 2018 and 2020 — and the Liberty will have to take down the Minnesota Lynx. New York is heavily favored, though the Lynx finished only two games behind the Liberty in the regular season.

Standing in the way will be Minnesota forward Napheesa Collier, who is averaging an eye-popping 27.1 points per game in the playoffs.

Stewart and Collier have been teammates on multiple occasions. In college, they overlapped on the Connecticut Huskies in 2015 and 2016. And as recently as this summer, they won gold at the Paris Olympics on the women’s national team.

They are also business partners. The two have co-founded a 3-on-3 women’s basketball league that is set to begin play in January as an alternative for WNBA players who don’t want to play overseas.

Collier is having a phenomenal season. She was voted WNBA Defensive Player of the Year and finished second in MVP voting to Aces forward A’Ja Wilson. She has also been the most dominant player of anyone in the postseason.

The Lynx have also won three of their last four meetings with the Liberty, including in the Commissioner’s Cup final.

Stewart, though, seems incredibly focused on the task at hand.

“We’re not satisfied,” she said. “We went to the Finals last year. We haven’t done anything.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com