BROOKLYN, N.Y. — In her first season with the Fresh York Self determination, Breanna Stewart has been named the 2023 WNBA MVP within the closest-three manner race in league historical past, it used to be introduced Tuesday.

Stewart and runner-up Alyssa Thomas of the Connecticut Solar have been separated through seven issues, the second-smallest margin between the winner and runner-up within the award’s historical past. The 13 issues isolating Stewart and the Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson, who used to be 3rd, mark the narrowest margin between the manage 3 MVP vote-getters in league historical past.

It’s the second one MVP award for Stewart, who gained her first in 2018 pace taking part in for the Seattle Hurricane in simply her 3rd season within the execs. Speedy-forward to 2023 and she will’t support however replicate on how dramatically her day has modified as she etches her park in WNBA lore all over again.

“That’s something that is really special to me when I think about it,” Stewart advised ESPN on Tuesday. “My first one was in 2018. I was still under my rookie contract and now look to 2023, I’m married to a beautiful wife, have a baby [Ruby, born in 2021] and we’re having another one.

“Ruby is any individual that’s going so that you could see her mommy get MVP, and that’s one thing that I without a doubt pluck a batch of delight in.”

The announcement came hours before New York hosted the Sun in Game 2 of their WNBA semifinal series (8 p.m., ESPN).

Seven months after signing with the Liberty in what arguably was the biggest free agency move in league history, Stewart sometimes still can’t believe she plays for New York. Now, she is the franchise’s first MVP and with six more wins could lead them to their first WNBA title.

The 2016 No. 1 overall pick is the eighth player in league history to win multiple MVP awards, fourth player to win it in their first season with a franchise and the second player to win MVP with multiple franchises.

“It’s without a doubt an honor so that you could say that is my moment and so that you could do it in a Self determination jersey for the primary week ever,” said Stewart, who was a two-time champion and two-time Finals MVP with the Storm. “I’m excited for what’s going to return this night, and with a bit of luck the fanatics are committing to journey nuts.”

Stewart also is the first Liberty player to be named MVP in the franchise’s 27-year history.

“Stewie’s first season with the Fresh York Self determination has been not anything snip of ancient on each degree,” Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb said in a statement. “The consistent resiliency, trust, selflessness, toughness, and professionalism she has dropped at the Self determination on a nightly foundation is a surprisingly uncommon aggregate — culminating in one of these particular season, each in my view and jointly.”

Stewart earned 20 first-place votes, 23 second-place votes and 17 third-place votes for a total of 446 total points from a national panel of 60 sportswriters and broadcasters. Thomas garnered 23 first-place votes, 12 second-place votes, 25 third-place votes, while Wilson received 17 first-place votes, 25 second-place votes, 17 third-place votes and one fourth-place vote.

Players were awarded 10 points for a first-place vote, seven points for a second-place vote, five points for a third-place vote, three for a fourth-place vote and one for a fifth-place vote.

It is also the second time that the MVP runner-up — in this case, Thomas — received more first-place votes than the winner; Lauren Jackson came in second to Sheryl Swoopes in 2005 despite receiving 20 first-place vote to Swoopes’ 16.

“A decent MVP race is fantastic for this league as a result of that suggests more than one gamers are being mentioned that may do a batch of various issues,” Stewart said.

After a year-plus of anticipation, Stewart left the only franchise she’d ever played for to sign with the Liberty this past offseason. She was attracted to the franchise’s progressive viewpoints toward the WNBA’s development (specifically their support for the league allowing widespread charter flights) and playing in the country’s largest sports market, all in hopes that she could help, in her words, push the needle forward.

It also meant she could play in her home state of New York and relocate closer to family.

The “Stew York Town” era kicked off on a high note when Stewart scored a career-high and franchise-record 45 points in 30 minutes in the Liberty’s home opener at Barclays Center. She was their most consistent player early on in the season especially as all the Liberty’s new pieces worked to jell on the court.

With Stewart as their centerpiece, the Liberty went 32-8 in the regular season, including finishing narrowly behind the first-place Aces. They caught fire after the All-Star Break in particular, where their 81.8% win percentage was a league-best and they won the Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game over the Aces in August.

New York is currently playing in its first WNBA semifinals since 2015, and could appear in the Finals for the first time since 2002 should it overcome a 0-1 deficit versus the Sun.

“So as to come to a franchise just like the Self determination and construct an affect this briefly, it’s incredible. It’s one thing this is in point of fact tricky to do,” Stewart said. “At first, there have been bumps alongside the best way, however we persisted to accept as true with the method and grind out wins and do no matter I needed to do to support this group get the win.”

Stewart’s 23.0 points per game this season were the second-highest scoring average in a player’s first season with a new team. As part of that effort, Stewart recorded four 40-point games, a WNBA single-season record, as well as three games with 40 points and 10 rebounds, the most in WNBA history.

Stewart set career highs in scoring (23.0 points, second-best in the league) and assists (3.8), nearly hit her career-best rebounding mark (9.3, third-best in the league), while also compiling a career-best 20 double-doubles, third-most in the league. Earlier this postseason, she was named to her fifth all-WNBA defensive team.

Stewart and the Liberty’s other big offseason additions, Courtney Vandersloot and Jonquel Jones, came to New York with a WNBA championship top of mind. But Stewart said she did feel relief when she learned she won MVP from WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert last week.

“I need to be stunning each week I step at the ground, and that’s one thing that I delight myself on in my profession, is bringing greatness anywhere I’m, whether or not that’s off and on the court docket,” Stewart said. “I feel every now and then it’s a negligible bit taken without any consideration what I will do, the power to play games more than one positions, so for myself to have this generation, however the group to have one of these super generation and everyone else to peer that, that’s the place the ease got here from. I’m simply happy with myself and in point of fact need to percentage this week with everybody.”

It’s the fresh accolade for Stewart, who used to be a three-time nationwide participant of the generation in school at UConn, four-time NCAA champion and Maximum Remarkable Participant, two-time EuroLeague champion and Ultimate 4 MVP, and a two-time Olympic gold-medalist.

Stewart and her spouse, Marta Xargay Casademont, also are anticipating their moment kid in October.