Alexa Philippou
Multiple Authors
BERLIN — For the first time in years, maybe decades, Team USA looked vulnerable entering and even during the 2026 women’s basketball World Cup.
Veterans A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum were late scratches heading into the tournament. France, which nearly beat the U.S. at the Olympics in 2024, was out for blood. A three-point win against Italy in the group phase and a close call against Spain in the semifinals only made the outside noise intensify heading into Sunday’s gold medal match.
The feeling was that maybe Team USA would miss out on gold at a major international tournament for the first time since 2006 and only the second time since 1994.
But as team captain Breanna Stewart sat in the news conference following Saturday’s semifinal, previewing the final showdown against France, she exuded a quiet confidence.
“I’ve been in these games,” she said at the time. “The emotional part of it is really what’s going to teeter teams [for things] to not go their way. And my team, we’re going to be locked in. We’re going to be very composed. Doesn’t matter what happens to us, we know that it’s going to be a long game.”
About 24 hours later, Stewart sat back in that very spot with an American flag draped around her and a gold medal around her neck, fresh off leading USA to a 97-79 victory over France. Her 22-point, 10-rebound performance in the final helped her earn World Cup MVP honors.
“I pride myself on being consistent, and that’s showing up when it’s the big moments and the small moments and all the moments in between,” Stewart said. “It’s like an unrealistic confidence that I have in myself, especially in those big moments. I believe that I always have a chance to win no matter what happens in the game.”
Stewart further solidified her argument as arguably the winningest player in the sport’s history, boasting four NCAA championships, three WNBA titles, three Olympic gold medals and now four World Cup golds, tying Sue Bird for the most of all time.
“It starts with Stewie,” coach Kara Lawson said. “Her leadership, not just tonight, throughout the whole tournament, helping to guide the younger players, talk to them, just show them what it looks like to win.
“She is USA Basketball. When you think of the last 15 years, it’s Stewie, and we’re just really lucky to be a part of her era of this group.”
Stewart has been a stalwart with USA Basketball for over a decade and in recent years has taken the reins alongside Wilson as pillars of this era of Team USA. But her on-court productivity and leadership had never been more important than in Berlin. The team was left with just three players — Stewart, Jackie Young and Kahleah Copper — who’d played in a World Cup before, a tournament many say is harder to win than the Olympics. Seven of the 12 had never even suited up for the senior national team in a major tournament.
Stewart ultimately led Team USA in scoring (12.8 points per game), rebounds (7.3 RPG) and efficiency rating (18.8), anchoring the defense and often even playing point guard if that’s what the game required. She had her fingerprints all over the France win between a crucial 12 points in the first half to keep the USA afloat and timely plays that helped the team pull away after halftime.
“The thing that I appreciate about her the most is her willingness to do anything to help the team,” Lawson said. “It’s so rare in a player of her caliber.
“She will play any position for us to win, and that quality is why she’s the greatest winner that we’ve had, probably.”
Her most important contribution might have come off the court. She was the standard-bearer tasked with ensuring that this younger generation understands the expectations that come with representing the U.S. And she also had to help them navigate the pressure that comes with that.
In the weight room after the team barely beat Italy in its second game — in what would have been one of the most shocking results the sport had seen in years — Stewart noticed several younger players had a look of “what just happened” on their faces. She shared with them how heading into the 2014 World Cup, her first, USA lost to France in an exhibition but still went on to win the tournament.
“Stewie’s been a tremendous leader through this whole process for us,” Caitlin Clark said after the gold medal game. “Even after we had that close game with Italy, she was somebody that was really vocal in the locker room about, ‘Don’t be flustered by this. This is normal for a World Cup. You’re going to have to kind of get it out of the mud at some points. It’s not always going to be pretty.'”
The team’s ability to internalize her message and stay the course was crucial for the remainder of the tournament, and perhaps in no situation more than when France jumped ahead by 14 in the second quarter. It was the first double-digit deficit Team USA faced in a World Cup game since the 2006 semifinal, the program’s last loss in the event.
“Our group, our starters especially, when we got down big, we didn’t crumble under pressure,” Stewart said about the team’s ability to cut the deficit to two going into halftime and then respond with a 30-12 third quarter. “[France’s] run wasn’t going to dictate how we were going to play the rest of the game.”
Added Clark: “Stewie’s a winner. All she ever does is win. She’s been in so many of these moments, and when you have somebody like that on your team, it’s just a really comforting thing.”
Stewart didn’t do it all alone — fellow veterans Chelsea Gray, Young, Copper and Napheesa Collier also came up big against France — but her peers recognize how special Stewart is.
“She’s so skilled, man. I think sometimes you get used to seeing excellence all the time and you get complacent,” said Gray, who has faced off against Stewart many times competing for WNBA championships. “You see the way she competes, the way she finishes the ball, the way she brings the team together. Things like this don’t happen by accident.
“We’ve done it together a few times and I’m happy to share the court with her.”
Added Paige Bueckers: “To see [her operate] up close and personal, it was definitely eye-opening.”
The keys to USA Basketball will eventually be handed over to the likes of Bueckers, Clark, Angel Reese and Aliyah Boston, all of whom have now learned from and won with Stewart.
But as far as she’s concerned, Stewart doesn’t want to be done with USA Basketball — and winning on the biggest of stages — anytime soon.
Asked on the television broadcast if she can run it back with this group at the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028, Stewart responded, “Oh yeah, see you in L.A.!”
