Breanna Stewart brings World Cup MVP momentum back to Liberty for playoff push

Breanna Stewart’s confidence in her game is easy to see, so when she was asked Thursday, before the Liberty practiced at Barclays Center, if her FIBA World Cup MVP had a bit more meaning since she hasn’t been the focal point of the WNBA MVP conversation, her answer reflected that.  Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Madeline Kenney about all things Liberty and WNBA.“I know what I do on the court, and everybody else knows what I do on the court,” the Liberty star said.

“Sometimes people, they just get used to greatness when it’s so consistent, I guess.” But more than anything, during her 10 days in Berlin as part of the Team USA squad at the World Cup, her focus was on winning.Stewart was an instrumental part in helping the U.S.

win its fifth consecutive FIBA World Cup title, which included toppling France in the gold medal game. “There was enough talk about all the things, about it [being] France’s time and whatever,” Stewart said.“I wanted to do whatever I could to win that game.

And if that made me MVP, then that made me MVP.But really, just happy to be bringing back the gold.” With the World Cup behind her, Stewart’s focus shifts back to the Liberty and the home stretch of the WNBA season.

The Liberty have clinched a playoff berth, but their seeding in the postseason is far from solidified with four games left in the regular season and a date with the league-leading Minnesota Lynx right out of the break. Stewart — who scored 22 points in the gold medal game against France and averaged 12.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game during the tournament — found there are parallels between what she took away at the World Cup and the stretch of four games in seven days that the Liberty have to end the regular season. “Knowing how important these four are, and Chris [DeMarco, head coach] talked about it a little bit [Wednesday], but the mindset and mentality of doi...