Breanna Stewart sets the record straight on rivalry with A'ja Wilson

Despite the noise surrounding Caitlin Clark, Breanna Stewart and A'ja Wilson are still considered the top two players in the world by a large faction of the WNBA fanbase. Their utter dominance on both ends is still unmatched in the league. But is there a rivalry between them? Stewart addressed the elephant in the room.

The New York Liberty star appeared on Sue Bird's "Bird’s Eye View" podcast on Friday and addressed the question around their rivalry. Stewart told Bird that, irrespective of what is painted about their rivalry in the media, they have a big respect for each other.

"Yeah, I mean, A'ja and I have like tons of respect for one another… her game is incredible," Stewart said. "There’s always a story trying to be written about us.

"We're getting better every year. Even the way A'ja’s game has developed since she came into the league, especially during the bubble season — she just keeps adding things."

The three-time WNBA champion also added that with the kind of skillset she and Wilson had on both ends, especially after the latter's first MVP in 2020, she knew they had to bear a bigger responsibility for the league.

"I feel like at that point, especially by 2020, we knew we were going to be the ones pushing this thing forward, especially from a skill level standpoint," she added. [Timestamp 46:25]

Breanna Stewart and A'ja Wilson have been teammates on Team USA at the Paris and Tokyo Olympics and won gold medals both times. They have also won two gold medals together in the FIBA World Cup.

A'ja Wilson showers praise while addressing beef with Breanna Stewart

Before Breanna Stewart addressed the beef narrative surrounding her and A'ja Wilson, the latter addressed it on "The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis" last year.

When Draymond Green asked the Aces star how she viewed her rivalry with Stewart, she said that despite their "little rivalry," they were still cool with each other.

I love it," Wilson said. "Stewie and I have been playing against each other for a long, long time. It's crazy to think we kind of grew up with this little rivalry. At the same time, we’re still cool, and I feel like that’s what makes it that much better.”

However, the Aces star said that there was no beef between her and the Liberty star, and it was all media creations.

"It's not beef. Media can make it a beef," Wilson said. "Anybody can make it a beef. But when you see us, we’re making each other better every single possession. ...That’s what our game and our league need." [Timestamp 38:30]

Wilson also added tone of the areas in which she especially has a lot of respect for Stewart is her four NCAA titles.

Wilson said she could understand the noise surrounding Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese when they played college basketball, but Stewart was inarguably the greatest athlete in college basketball history.

A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart share five of the last seven MVPs. They have also shared the last three WNBA titles.