Breanna Stewart Speaks to Mentality, Excitement Ahead of Paris Olympic Games

The New York Liberty forward still gets goose bumps when she puts on that Team USA jersey.

Breanna Stewart / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The 2024 Paris Olympics may be Breanna Stewart’s third summer games, but she’s still experiencing “that goose bump feeling.”

Ahead of the 2024 Olympics, the athlete sat down with PUMA, her brand partner since 2021, to talk through her mentality heading in to the Opening Ceremony and the start of the women’s basketball competition. For the 29-year-old, a trip to the games is (and has always been) a “dream come true,” she said. Though she has achieved much in her professional career, playing on the international stage has always been one of the pinnacles.

Ahead of her third Olympics, Stewart is certainly “seeing things a little bit differently” and “knowing and understanding what to expect” in a way that she didn’t as a first-timer. But she maintains that awe that she experienced at her debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. “I feel like my first one, it was a whirlwind,” she remarked. “So much was happening. But like every time you still get that goose bump feeling.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by PUMA (@puma)

At both the 2016 and 2020 games, the New York Liberty forward helped her team to a gold medal. This year, her goals remain the same. “I think the mindset going into the Olympics, or anytime I’m wearing USA is gold,” she said. “That’s the standard for us with USA Basketball—chasing that.”

The group phase of Team USA’s bid for Olympic gold begins on Monday, July 29 at 3 p.m. ET with a game against Japan.