Remember when Breanna Stewart put up the best April of any basketball player, Stephen Curry’s historic 3-point barrage included? It was because of the European basketball structure that Stewart, Brittney Griner, Courtney Vandersloot, Allie Quigley and Emma Meesseman of UMMC Ekaterinburg won the EuroLeague championship and 10 days later the domestic Russian Premier League championship. Stewart earned Finals MVP in each, adding to her 2020 WNBA title and Finals MVP.
It feels like ages ago. UMMC Ekaterinburg has since been kicked out of EuroLeague play following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.