Breanna Stewart surpasses Diana Taurasi to become fastest WNBA player to reach 5,000 points

New York Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello waited eight minutes for Breanna Stewart‘s remarkable feat to be mentioned during Sunday’s postgame media availability.

And that was just too long.

On Sunday, Stewart became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 5,000 points. The reigning MVP did it in just 242 games, notching the mark in a win over the Atlanta Dream at Barclays Center. And her head coach made sure to let reporters know about the accomplishment after fielding too many questions that didn’t pertain to the scoring record.

“I just want to make sure you guys all knew that in case you didn’t,” Brondello said.

Luckily for Stewart, she was asked about it before heading out of Barclays Center following Sunday’s win.

“I think it’s a cool honor for sure,” Stewart said about surpassing Mercury star Diana Taurasi, who scored 5,000 points in 243 games. “When you’re able to pass someone like [Taurasi] who’s really paving the way with scoring and all of that, it’s an incredible honor and something I’ll definitely text her about.”

Taurasi reached the 5,000 point-mark in her 2013 WNBA season with the Mercury, just one year before Brondello landed in Phoenix as head coach and eventually won the title.

Stewart bested the future Hall-of-Famer’s mark after knocking down a fadeaway jumper at the 8:10 minute mark of the second quarter. That bucket contributed to her team-high 22 points en route to the Liberty’s 16th win of the season.

“But all in all, I wouldn’t be able to be here and do all the things without my teammates and [I’m] really appreciating them for continually setting me up to get to this point,” said Stewart, who spent seven years with the Seattle Storm before arriving in New York in 2023.

“But we’re trying to do more than just get accolades,” she said.

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