WNBA FINALS: STORM VS. ACES

October 6, 2020

Breanna Stewart

Seattle Storm

Game 3: Postgame

Seattle Storm 92, Las Vegas Aces 59

Q. You've talked about what it meant to come back from an extremely serious, painful injury, but can you put yourself back in that feeling last year of having to watch this and what it feels like a year later to be back as MVP again?

BREANNA STEWART: You know, I remember where I was last year during the WNBA Finals, and I was in North Carolina with my family, and it was hard for me not to be upset because I wanted to be a part of the league.

Obviously I wanted to be with my team and have the opportunity to be back and defend our title. To be able to be here, to get through all that we've gone through as a team obviously individually, it's an amazing feeling. There's so much of an unknown that you don't know after rupturing my Achilles, but I'm super -- I don't know if I'm proud of myself but, you know, proud of what I've done. I think it's hard to see it because it was so close, but really proud of just being able to be back.

Q. You were talking about how hard it is sometimes to take a step back when you're in it, but are you able to process everything you've done by age 26, collegiate titles and now these two Finals MVPs and championships, do you ever take stock of it, and do you ever think about where you want to be? Is the goal to get six of them or is it to avoid champagne?

BREANNA STEWART: Avoiding champagne for sure. I think that -- I don't know especially the past few days knowing we were going into Game 3, having the opportunity to be back, win another Finals, I didn't know what was going to happen after rupturing my Achilles. You see all the worst things. You see all the worst and then I wasn't sure if I was ever going to be back to where I was.

But to be here and see myself playing like this and having so much potential going forward, it's exciting but also really appreciating what we were able to do this year, being able to play with Sue. I guess it just makes you appreciate more and I'm just appreciating more my basketball career. Yeah, I want to win.

Q. With the COVID-19 pandemic, being in the bubble, all that you've gone through this season, what does it mean to you to be the 2020 WNBA Champs?

BREANNA STEWART: I was talking to Sue about it before we finished. I talked to Cathy [Engelbert] about it before my Podcast. To be able to be the 2020 WNBA champs, it's a huge gold star next to that.

This season wasn't easy, and it wasn't easy in a whole bunch of different areas, with the coronavirus, with the social injustices going on in this country and the day-to-day being stuck here in the bubble.

But our team is resilient. We continued to keep going, no matter what's going on, and I'm super proud to kind of be a part of this and this one is different than 2018, but it was harder and it means more.

Q. Seems like there's always a run, but you just don't know when it's going to happen, in that third quarter, you scored 12. Can you just take us through that third quarter run?

BREANNA STEWART: I mean, I think our big emphasis was we knew they were going to come and make a push, and it might have been their last push but we wanted to make sure we made our own. We were continuing to be aggressive knowing that we wanted to win, and that was what was on the line was winning a championship, going home with a ring, and that's what we did, and we continued to just wear them down and do what we do.

Q. You're in a small club now with two MVPs and your two Finals rings. Does it complete your comeback that you've won a championship and you're the unanimous choice as the MVP?

BREANNA STEWART: I wanted to win a ring, and that was the priority. Whatever else comes, comes. But getting another ring, getting another opportunity to play with Sue was what was most important, and whether it was unanimous or not, who cares.

Q. Do you guys have plans tonight to pop a few more bottles or FaceTime some family?

BREANNA STEWART: You said celebrating in the bubble?

Q. Yeah.

BREANNA STEWART: There's plenty of alcohol in the bubble, so that's how we're going to celebrate. But yeah, we're talking to the people that we care about most, and then at the same time, we're going to celebrate with the people that are here, and these have been the same people that have kind of battled with us this entire time and I'm not sure the exact amount of days we've been here, but it's 90-something. [93 days].