Seven-time WNBA All-Star Breanna Stewart is returning to Europe as the 2025-26 EuroLeague season draws to a close.
Fenerbahçe announced Monday the signing of Stewart, who will help the club attempt to improve upon its third-place finish in last year’s tournament. The Final Six tips off April 15 in Zaragoza, Spain.
Stewart’s decision is especially notable when set against the backdrop of ongoing negotiations between the WNBA and Women’s National Basketball Player’s Association over a new collective bargaining agreement.
Stewart is a vice president in the WNBPA, so returning to Fenerbahçe will be filtered through the lens of that battle.
The EuroLeague Final Six wraps up on April 19, which is the same day WNBA training camps are scheduled to open.
Under the last CBA, the prioritization rule stipulated that veterans under contract had to report by the start of training camp or May 1, whichever fell later on the calendar. Whoever missed that deadline would be suspended for the entire year.
This could be read as a sign Stewart doesn’t believe the WNBA season will start on time. She may instead be pressing the issue on the prioritization rule more specifically, which has been a source of frustration from some of her peers.
During NBA All-Star Weekend, commissioner Adam Silver said he was “encouraged” by where negotiations stand between the WNBA and WNBPA. He didn’t want to set a deadline for a tentative agreement, though.
“What I would love to do is put pressure on everyone,” Silver told reporters. “Often, things tend to get done at the 11th hour. We’re getting awfully close to the 11th hour when it comes to bargaining.”
Stewart committing to play overseas through mid-April may dampen the optimism he tried to portray.