Breanna Stewart announced she is re-signing with the New York Liberty, with teammate Sabrina Ionescu also confirming her intent to return ahead of a condensed free agency window.
Breanna Stewart is staying put.
The two-time WNBA MVP and three-time league champion announced on her podcast "Game Recognize Game with Stewie and Myles" that she intends to re-sign with the New York Liberty despite being an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
"I'm going to just set the record straight here: I will be staying in New York," Stewart told co-host Myles Turner. "I'm not planning on taking any free agency meetings, even though I am an unrestricted free agent. My family is set up here, we're solid here. I'm going to be back in New York and that's all there is to it."
Liberty teammate Sabrina Ionescu echoed that sentiment Wednesday, telling reporters at USA Basketball training camp that she also plans to return.
"Obviously I'm where I'm supposed to be," Ionescu said. "Never thought anything different, and so excited to be able to sign and get started."
The two form the backbone of a Liberty franchise that has been among the WNBA's elite in recent seasons. Stewart, a seven-time All-Star, averaged 18.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.4 steals per game in 2025, her ninth season in the league. She battled through injuries in the second half of the year, including a sprained MCL she played through in the playoffs. She followed that up with a healthy run at Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 league she co-founded with Napheesa Collier, leading her Mist BC squad to a championship.
Ionescu, a four-time All-Star, averaged 18.2 points, 5.7 assists, and 4.9 rebounds per game last season. The Liberty's first overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft has grown into one of the most complete guards in the league.
New York enters the offseason with a new head coach in Chris DeMarco, but Ionescu said the continuity of the core gives the organization a foundation to build on.
"I feel like that's something that we can kind of hang our hats on," Ionescu said. "Knowing we obviously have a new coaching staff that's coming in, which is going to be a lot of new change, but I think being able to understand we have our core coming back and continuing to add new pieces is going to be really exciting as well."
Beyond Stewart and Ionescu, the Liberty have several significant roster decisions ahead. Jonquel Jones has been part of the core since arriving via trade from Connecticut in 2023. Natasha Cloud, Emma Meesseman, and Kennedy Burke are among the key free agents, while the club also holds exclusive negotiating rights to Betnijah Laney-Hamilton.
The rest of the offseason is still very much up in the air. Almost every veteran in the league is a free agent this offseason, and most of them are entering the market for the first time under the new CBA, which was ratified last month and brings significantly higher salaries across the board. Exact free agency dates have not been shared with teams yet, and whatever the window looks like, it won't be long. The expansion draft is Friday, and training camp opens April 19.
Ionescu didn't sugarcoat what the short window means for the rest of the league.
"I think it's going to be difficult because you're kind of forcing players and teams to make decisions really quickly," she said. "It's going to be real quick-hitting, and there's obviously a lot of money on the table as well."
For the Liberty, at least, the two biggest calls this offseason are already settled.