Breanna Stewart Out for Liberty's Regular Season Finale, Playoff Status Uncertain

New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart will not play in the team's regular season finale on Wednesday, and her status for the upcoming playoffs remains uncertain. Stewart was initially absent from the team's availability report for the game against the Atlanta Dream.

Stewart was later downgraded to "questionable" with left knee soreness after the team's shootaround, before ultimately being ruled out approximately two hours before tipoff. Head coach Chris DeMarco stated that Stewart's absence was a precautionary measure after she experienced soreness upon waking up.

When asked directly about Stewart's availability for the playoffs, which are set to begin on Sunday, DeMarco was noncommittal. "I’m not sure yet on the workload piece or the availability," he said. "It’s soreness right now. The play that happened in the last game, just not feeling great. But yeah, hopefully she’ll be ready for the playoffs."

Stewart appeared to injure her left knee in the fourth quarter of Monday's 95-84 loss to the Dream. During a rebound attempt, Rhyne Howard of the Dream landed on Stewart's leg. On the broadcast, Stewart was seen flexing her left knee and grimacing in pain during a stoppage in play. Despite the apparent injury, she remained in the game, finishing with a team-high 27 points and 14 rebounds in 37 minutes.

The workload of the 32-year-old captain has been a subject of discussion since she led USA Basketball to its fifth consecutive FIBA World Cup title. Stewart averaged 23.1 minutes across those six games. Less than a week later, she played 38 minutes in the Liberty's first game back from the break, a significant win against the Minnesota Lynx.

Wednesday's game marks the Liberty's fourth game in a six-day span. The outcome of the game will determine their playoff seeding, with the team potentially finishing as high as fifth or dropping as low as eighth, the final playoff spot.

Despite the timing of Stewart's injury, DeMarco expressed confidence in the team's ability to adapt, citing the various injury challenges they have faced throughout the season. "Next player up, and it’s been something we’ve dealt with all season. We’ll be ready to go," he said.

This is only the second game Stewart will miss this season. She previously sat out the Liberty's June 25 loss in Seattle. Stewart currently leads the Liberty in scoring with 20.8 points per game and total blocks with 54. She is second on the team in rebounding, averaging 8.3 boards per game, behind Jonquel Jones.