Breanna Stewart just doesn’t stop. Right now, she is competing in Unrivaled and taking part in the WNBA CBA negotiations. Soon, Stewart will also take her talents to Europe once again and could actually end up deciding the outcome of this EuroLeague season. The Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahce just announced that Stewart signed with the team and would join it for the Final Six in Zaragoza in April—a move that only increases the team’s title chances.
Adding Stewart to a Fenerbahce team that already features Kayla McBride, Teaira McCowan, Iliana Rupert, Gabby Williams, Megan Gustafson, Julie Allemand, Emma Meesseman, Rebecca Allen, and Sevgi Uzun is pretty much just unfair. Fenerbahce only lost one game all season—a 61-80 loss to Basket Landes in EuroLeague on January 14.
Fenerbahce fell short of winning the EuroLeague title last season, losing to Praha by 20 points in the semi-finals and securing third place with a win over Valencia. Nevertheless, the team is one of the favorites to win this season. While they didn’t look great against Basket Landes, Fenerbahce has the kind of star power you just don’t want to bet against—especially with Breanna Stewart back in the mix.
Breanna Stewart already helped Fenerbahce win a title before
This isn’t Stewart’s first stint with Fenerbahce. She also suited up for the team in the 2022-23 season—her last season overseas.
That year, she helped the team win a Turkish Super League championship and a EuroLeague title. She was also named to the All-EuroLeague First Team and won the EuroLeague Final Four MVP award. She averaged 21.7 points, 8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1 block over 11 EuroLeague games. It was just one of the many successful seasons Stewart has put together over her career.
Once Stewart joins the team, Fenerbahce will just have to figure out how to balance the frontcourt minutes. Rupert and Meesseman usually take up most of them. They average 29 and 28.7 minutes per game, respectively.
Another offseason obligation could spell trouble for the New York Liberty
The Liberty hope to re-sign Stewart and build another championship contender around her, Jonquel Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu. The team fell short of that goal last season because all three stars dealt with injuries. Stewart’s absence hurt the team especially.
Playing in Unrivaled and then also suiting up for Fenerbahce again only increases the risk of Stewart coming into the next WNBA season not fully healthy or suffering another injury during the season. At the same time, however, Stewart’s decision to sign with a EuroLeague team again could hint at some troubling CBA news. Some fans are already wondering if Stewart’s return to play for Fenerbahce means that she doesn’t expect the WNBA season to start any time soon.