Lonzo Ball commends Breanna Stewart as reigning WNBA MVP leads Liberty to W: "Seeing it in person just hit different"

Modified Jun 05, 2024 03:38 GMT

Lonzo Ball was in awe of reigning WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart, who led the New York Liberty to a huge win over the Chicago Sky. Ball attended his first WNBA game on Tuesday night at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago to watch the Liberty-Sky matchup in the 2024 Commissioner's Cup.

In a post on his official X account, Ball revealed that he was watching his first live WNBA game. He saw Stewart dominate the Sky with an MVP performance, finishing with 33 points, 14 rebounds and three assists on 14-for-25 shooting from the field.

"Like I knew she was cold but seeing it in person jus hit different," Ball wrote about Stewart.

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It was a rare public appearance for Lonzo Ball, who has missed the past two seasons due to a left knee condition. Ball initially had surgery during the 2021-22 season to repair a torn meniscus. He ended up missing the rest of the campaign before undergoing arthroscopic debridement prior to the 2022-23 season.

However, Ball was experiencing discomfort and was ruled out for the rest of the season. He then cartilage transplant in his left knee last year and was again ruled out for the entire 2023-24 season. The Chicago Bulls expect him to be healthy or at least play next season.

Ball seemingly works out in Chicago even in the offseason, supporting the Sky on Tuesday. But it was Breanna Stewart who stole the show to give the New York Liberty an 88-75 victory. The Liberty are now 2-0 in the 2024 WNBA Commissioner's Cup, while the Sky dropped to 0-2.

Breanna Stewart in a slump despite New York Liberty success

The New York Liberty improved to 8-2 for the season and 2-0 in the WNBA Commissioner's Cup after their win over the Chicago Sky. Breanna Stewart is one of the reasons why they are second in the standings just behind the undefeated Connecticut Sun.

However, Stewart has been in a slump the past two weeks, hampering her chances of winning back-to-back MVP trophies. She finally came out of the slump on Tuesday after having a great mentality before the game.

In an interview with the New York Post on Monday, Stewart admitted that she doesn't have any choice when it comes to her slump. She'll continue taking shots until she starts making them consistently.

"I mean, I think that yeah, I would like the ball to go in the basket, especially from 3. But … just being confident in who I am and understanding that it's gonna come — the threat that I am. All I need to do is just go out and be myself, and that’s really it. And not thinking about what happened last year, but focused on this year and one game at a time," Stewart said.