The New York Liberty will be without their All-Star forward in their regular-season finale, which has major playoff seeding implications.
Breanna Stewart (left knee soreness) has been ruled out of the Liberty's matchup against the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday, Sept. 23, the second game in three days between the two teams. The Dream won Monday's meeting 95-84, officially ending the Liberty's chances of homecourt advantage in the first round of the 2026 WNBA playoffs.
The Liberty are currently eighth in the WNBA standings with one more regular-season game to improve their placement. The Liberty can climb as high as the No. 6 seed with a win over the Dream on Wednesday and some help from the Washington Mystics and Dallas Wings, but New York will have
to do it without the MVP of the WNBA Commissioner's Cup and FIBA Women's World Cup.
Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco said the team is erring on the side of caution with Stewart's left knee soreness as the postseason is set to get underway in four days.
"Some soreness crept in. A play from the last game, and then (she) didn't wake up feeling great," DeMarco said in his pregame press conference. "We've got a run here at the playoffs, just precautionary with soreness."
The Liberty will open the playoffs on the road on Sunday, although their opponent and travel destination may not be determined until Thursday. If the Liberty lose against the Dream on Wednesday, New York will be locked into the No. 8 seed and face the Minnesota Lynx in the first round. DeMarco said he's not sure if Stewart's knee soreness will affect her availability in the postseason, but added, "Hopefully she'll (be) ready for the playoffs."
Stewart leads the team in scoring (20.8 points per game), steals (1.4) and blocks (1.3). She recorded a 27-point, 14-rebound double-double in the Liberty's loss to the Dream on Monday. Stewart shot 11-of-19 from the field and rounded out her stat line with four assists and a steal.
The 6-foot-4 forward out of UConn has logged many minutes in the month of September after leading Team USA to its fifth consecutive gold medal at the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup. Stewart averaged 12.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 23.1 minutes per game across six contests.
Stewart was one of seven Liberty players that represented their country during the Women's World Cup.
"Obviously with coming off the World Cup, there's obviously going to be concerns for anybody who had heavy minutes over there," DeMarco said. "(Stewart) got hurt a little bit. She got some soreness and yeah, we want to be careful with her."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Breanna Stewart injury update: New York Liberty forward ruled out vs. Atlanta Dream
