WNBA Finals: Breanna Stewart forgoes NY Liberty success for Olympic glory in bold admission

As the New York Liberty prepare for their first league title of the year, their star Breanna Stewart has a chance at redemption. Last year, Stewie was distracted by a personal tragedy: the loss of her father-in-law Josep Xargay to lung cancer just three days before the finals began. When the Liberty's leading scorer had the ball in her hands on the fourth play, with just 8.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter, she made a pass instead of shooting. This was considered the main reason for the Liberty's third and final loss to the Aces in the Championship Series by a margin of 70-69. However, contrary to popular belief, she doesn't mind losing the WNBA ring when faced with the decision between America's popular professional league and gold at the Olympics.

On Wednesday's episode of The Eli Manning Show, The 30-year-old surprisingly revealed her preference for Olympic gold. “For me the gold medal is the best of the best. As if that were the highest of the highest. Especially because you know that you are playing with the best players in the world against the other best countries in the world. And it's… and in USA Basketball the standard is gold and being able to share that with Sab this summer was a lot of fun and a little stressful, but we came home with another gold.” Stewart explained boldly without breaking a sweat.

The three-time Olympic gold medalist was part of the women's national basketball team three times in the quadrennial event, leading her team to the gold medal each time. Two of her best performances at the Paris Olympics this year came against Japan and Belgium, when she scored 22 and 26 points, respectively. Overall, her 16.3 points per game and 78.3% free throw shooting were one of the core players that helped Team USA win their eighth consecutive Summer Games title. However, everyone was surprised after her latest statement, considering the salvation she will achieve when the Liberty win their first league title this month.

Despite being a two-time WNBA champion with the Seattle Storm, Stewie hasn't won a title since joining the New York-based franchise last season. She had the worst playoff stint at the time, as she averaged the lowest points per game and field goal percentage in her career in the elimination series. And when her father-in-law passed away, fans say it took a mental toll on her, as she was only able to score 16.3 points per game on 36.2% shooting in the championship series. Therefore, she wasn't expected to give up on the Liberty after so much happened last season. But despite not placing much importance on the WNBA Finals, a certain analyst has backed the Sandy Brondello-coached franchise to finish things in their favor.

Stephen A. Smith believes the New York Liberty could win the series

Last year, when the Liberty made it to the finals against the Aces, A'ja Wilson was the biggest problem separating them from their dream. The two-time WNBA champion averaged 23.8 points and 11.8 rebounds per game en route to back-to-back championship titles. That year, she won the MVP title by averaging 26.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. Still, they couldn't withstand the heat of the Liberty in the semifinals, as they outscored the Aces by a 3-1 margin. Hence Stephen A. Smith on Wednesday's episode First recording, assisted the Liberty in completing the work.

“This is their sixth trip to the finals. In the final they are 0-5. You'd better get it done. If you could take out A'ja Wilson, you could take out Napheesa Collier. It's that simple. Mind your business, do whatever the hell you have to do. … New York is hungry for our basketball championship,” Smith listed.

The Liberty, in particular, have made it to the Championship Series five times since the W's inception in 1997, losing each time, including in the inaugural season. However, Bronx native Smith is confident the Liberty can edge out the Minnesota Lynx and take home the title for the first time. But if the stats are to be believed, the Lynx could very well emerge as champions of the championship series for the fifth time. And the same opinion is reinforced by fans when they note the fact that the Liberty lost the Commissioner's Cup to the Lynx this year by a margin of 94-89.

Hopefully Stewie will take advantage of this opportunity in the coming games and lead the Liberty to their first title. And perhaps she would be happy to see Liberty's Championship ring take a place next to the gold medals.