As the New York Liberty prepare for their first championship title this year, their star Breanna Stewart has a shot at redemption. Last year, Stewie was distracted by a personal tragedy: the loss of her father-in-law Josep Xargay to lung cancer just 3 days before the start of the Finals. When Liberty’s star had the ball in her hands, she made a pass instead of shooting during the fourth play with just 8.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter. This was considered the main reason for the Liberty’s third and final loss to the Aces in the Championship series by a 70–69 margin. But contrary to popular belief, she doesn’t mind losing the WNBA ring as she finds herself at the crossroads of choosing between the popular American professional league and Olympic gold.

In Wednesday’s episode of The Eli Manning Show, the 30-year-old revealed her preference for Olympic gold, which surprised everyone. “For me, the gold medal is the cream of the crop. As if that is the highest of the highest. Especially because you know that you are playing against the other best countries in the world with the best players in the world. And it is…and with American basketball the standard is gold, and to be able to share that with Sab this summer was a lot of fun and a little bit stressful, but we came home with another gold.” Stewart stated boldly, without breaking a sweat.

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

Although Stewie is a two-time WNBA champion with the Seattle Storm, she has not won a title since moving to the New York-based franchise last season. She then had the worst playoff stints, as she averaged her career lowest points per game and field goal percentage in the elimination series. And when her father-in-law passed away, fans speculated that it took a mental toll on her, as she was only able to score 16.3 points per game and shot 36.2% from the field in the Championship series. That’s why she wasn’t expected to leave 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 the job in their favor.

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

When the Liberty made it to the finals against the Aces last year, the biggest problem between them and their dream was A’ja Wilson. The two-time WNBA champion averaged 23.8 points with 11.8 rebounds per game en route to her back-to-back championship title. This year she won the MVP title with an average of 26.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. Nevertheless, they could not take the heat from the Liberty in the semi-finals as they outscored the Aces by a 3-1 margin. Hence Stephen A. Smith on Wednesday’s episode of the First recording, backed the Liberty to get the job done.

“This is their sixth trip to the Finals. In the final they are 0-5. They better finish it. If you can take out A’ja Wilson, you can take out Napheesa Collier. It’s that simple. Take care of your affairs, do what you have to do. …New York is hungry for our basketball championship,” Smith summarized.

Notably, the Liberty have made the championship series five times since the W’s inception in 1997, losing on each occasion, including the inaugural season. However, Smith, a Bronx native, is confident the Liberty can oust the Minnesota Lynx and take home the silverware for the first time. But if the statistics are to be believed, the Lynx could emerge from the Championship series victorious for the fifth time. And the same opinion is reinforced by fans when they take note of the fact that the Liberty lost this year’s Commissioner’s Cup to the Lynx by a margin of 94-89.

Hopefully, Stewie will make the most of this opportunity in the coming games and take the Liberty to their first title. And perhaps she would rejoice if Liberty’s Championship ring shares a place next to the gold medals.