Breanna Stewart Leads the U.S. at FIBA World Cup

Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart led all scorers in the opening game of the FIBA World Cup in Sydney, Australia, on Thursday, pacing the U.S. team with 22 points en route to a 87–72 victory over Belgium. This is the third World Cup appearance for the SI Swimsuit model, who was named the tournament MVP in 2018. Team USA’s roster is loaded with 12 WNBA champions all seeking to win the U.S. its fourth consecutive title. The squad is counting on Stewart’s leadership, however, as stalwart point guard Sue Bird has retired.

It’s been a big year-plus for Stewart. She led the WNBA in scoring this season and won her second Olympic gold medal last year, two days before her “biggest accomplishment of the year” – the birth of her baby girl Ruby, who arrived via surrogate. This summer she also launched her signature “Stewie 1” sneaker with Puma.

Stewart made her SI Swimsuit debut in 2022 alongside fellow WNBA players Sue Bird, Didi Richards, Nneka Ogwumike and Te’a Cooper in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.

The 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup is taking place in Sydney, Australia. The games began on September 22nd and will end on October 1st. On Friday, team USA will play Puerto Rico. Viewers in the United States can watch that game tonight, Thursday September 22nd on ESPN+ at 8:20 PM ET.