One of the tightest award races in league history ended with Liberty forward Breanna Stewart being named the 2023 WNBA MVP on Tuesday.
The winner was determined by 60 sportswriters and broadcasters who awarded Stewart with 466 total votes. It was enough for the Liberty star to beat out Sun forward Alyssa Thomas by just seven points. Players were awarded 10 points for a first-place vote, seven points for a second-place vote, five points for a third-place vote, three points for a fourth-place vote and one point for a fifth-place vote.
Thomas received the most first-place votes (23), with Stewart getting the second-most (20). This is the second time in WNBA history that the MVP runner-up received more first-place votes than the award winner. In 2005, Lauren Jackson Jackson received 20 first-place votes to 16 for Sheryl Swoopes.
Stewart’s 23 second place votes were enough to give her the edge and claim the second MVP award of her career. The first came as a member of the Seattle Storm in 2018.
Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson finished third with 433 points. The 13 points separating Stewart and Wilson represent the smallest margin between first- and third-place vote-getters for MVP in WNBA history.
Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier was fourth with 109 total votes and Dallas Wings’ star Satou Sabally finished fifth with 35 votes.
Stewart learned she won the award after WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert called her while watching the decisive Game 3 between the Minnesota Lynx and Connecticut Sun. She said she was really happy and excited to share the news with her wife, Marta Xargay.
“I feel like as a player, you always want to play at an MVP level,” Stewart said. “And that’s when you know you’re having a good season is when every night you’re able to do something for your team and show that in wins.”
Stewart wrapped up a regular season averaging a career-high in points (23) and assists (3.8). She also grabbed 9.3 rebounds per game and was the only player in the league to average at least 1.5 steals and blocks per game.
The 29-year-old became the only player in WNBA history to record four 40-point performances in a single season. Her contributions for the second-seeded Liberty also extended on the defensive end, which landed her a spot on the All-Defensive First Team.
Stewart’s ability to guard multiple positions and shut down opponents played a key role in the Liberty ranking third in defense, which is four spots better than last year’s mark.
Stewart’s MVP season had plenty of highlight performances to look back on.
The now two-time MVP kicked off her award-winning campaign with a 45-point Barclays Center debut against the Indiana Fever on May 21. She also lifted her team to a narrow victory against the Phoenix Mercury on July 5 after recording 43 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.
Stewart came two points shy of another 40-point performance after tallying 38 in just 26 minutes of action in a blowout 111-76 win over the Minnesota Lynx on Aug. 26.
The MVP noted that her Barclays Center debut is a performance she’ll “look at forever.”
“Like wow,” she said with a smile on her face. “You want to play well at home, but in my first game ever at Barclays to go off like that was really fitting for what I want to do here and how I want to help this team.”
Over the course of the regular season, the 2023 MVP award was a three-player race between Stewart, Thomas and Wilson.
The award going to Thomas would’ve been deserving considering she carried the Connecticut Sun to the third overall seed while recording six triple-doubles, which is a WNBA single-season record.
The same could be said for two-way star Wilson, who won Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. Her dominant play — 22.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game — helped the Aces secure the No. 1 overall seed.
Stewart said she kept an eye on the other stars during the year’s first ever 40-game season and that a tight MVP race is “amazing because that means multiple players are being talked about.”
“Tons of amazing players — AT, Satou, A’ja … [are] raising the bar and setting the standard and making sure no matter what, these players are going to be at the top.”
But at the end, it was Stewart that did enough to sway voters to award her with the hardware for the second time in her career and the first time as a member of the Liberty.
The award adds to another piece of hardware for an already decorated resume and stamps her success in her first season in Brooklyn. Also, it’s another happy moment for a family that’s expecting a second baby in the family.
“So its been a crazy year,” Stewart said. “Obviously all amazing things. To be able to move to Brooklyn, to play for the Liberty, for us to have the season that we’ve had, to be in the playoffs. Expecting healthy baby number two.”
“Just really puts everything into perspective.”
