What Breanna Stewart’s EuroLeague decision really means for the WNBA’s CBA talks originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Two-time WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart’s decision to join Turkish giants Fenerbahce on Monday comes at a delicate time in negotiations between the WNBA and the WNBPA, of which Stewart serves on the executive committee.
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Days after NBA commissioner Adam Silver warned that collective bargaining negotiations “are awfully close to the 11th hour,” one of the WNBA’s best players has been confirmed as a new signing ahead of EuroLeague Final Six action in April.
Stewart’s return to Fenerbahce, with whom she won the EuroLeague title in 2023, means she will be cutting it awfully close in terms of returning to the United States in time for training camp with the New York Liberty.
However, even though the timing of the move is eyebrow-raising, Stewart’s participation in the EuroLeague Final Six — the competition’s championship-deciding phase — could end just as WNBA training camps open up.
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Pending the ratification of a new CBA, WNBA training camps begin April 19, the day that the EuroLeague final will be played at the Pabellón Príncipe Felipe in Zaragoza, Spain.
And Stewart’s European return is just for the Final Six games, which conveniently take place after the Unrivaled season ends and a few weeks before the WNBA season tips off.
It may well be a crafty tactic from Stewart that applies additional pressure as the CBA talks continue to drag, and the 2026 season becomes ever more jeopardized.
