Stewart named to first team for fourth-straight season
SEATTLE — Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart has been named to the 2022 All-WNBA First Team, earning first-team honors for the fourth-straight season she has played and All-WNBA recognition for the fifth time in her career.
Stewart, who has been named to the first team in each of the last three seasons and in four-straight she has played going back to 2018, becomes the ninth player in WNBA history to appear in the first team in four consecutive seasons played. She is also the third Storm player to accomplish that after Lauren Jackson appeared on five-straight first teams from 2003-07 and Sue Bird was honored with four-straight from 2002-05. It was also the fifth time being named to an All-WNBA team, also earning 2016 second-team honors.
Stewart led the WNBA in scoring for the first time in her career, pouring in a career-best 21.8 points per game in 2022. She scored in double-figures in all 34 games she played this season, a streak which is also the longest active streak in the WNBA (34).
Stewart ended the season strong, averaging 26.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game over her final five games, hitting 53.2% from the field, recording three double-doubles over her last four games. She had the most 25+ point games in the league with 11 and her 19 games with 20+ points were the second-most despite playing two fewer games than the leader.
Stewart’s season averages of 21.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.6 spg, and 0.9 bpg marked just the second season a player averaged 21.0+ ppg, 6.0+ rpg, 2.0+ apg, 1.0+ spg, and 0.9+ bpg. The only other player was Stewart during her 2018 WNBA MVP season.
In the playoffs, Stewart turned it up even more, averaging 27.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.8 blocks per game, shooting 51.3% from the field and 52.0% from three-point range in six playoff games. She ended the playoffs by tying the WNBA record with 42 points in a playoff game, extending her WNBA record of playoff games scoring 20+ points to 10.
The All-WNBA honor adds to Stewart’s season accolades after being named 2022 Associated Press Player of the Year honors for the second time in her career. She was also named to the AP’s First Team for the third-straight season, earning first-team recognition in her last four eligible seasons after earning second-team honors as a rookie in 2016.
—— StormBasketball.com ——