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Welcome back to the WNBA, Brittney Griner.
Ahead of the 2023 season opener on Friday night between the Los Angeles Sparks and the Phoenix Mercury at the Crypto.com Arena, the Sparks made a nice gesture by highlighting the return of the Mercury center.
The public address announcer welcomed Greener back and her Received a standing ovation From the remote crowd in Los Angeles.
Once the game started, it didn’t take long for Griner to sense her presence. Less than a minute after the contest started, she knocked down jacket from the top of the key.
That was just the start of a big night for Griner, who finished with 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting with six rebounds and four blocks. However, the Mercury fell to the Sparks 94-71.
“How good did she look? WNBA Commissioner Kathy Engelbert told reporters at halftime, via The Associated Press.
Griner was playing her first game since 2021. She missed the entire 2022 season after being detained at a Russian airport in February 2022. After being held for nearly 10 months on drug charges, she returned to the United States in December as part of that. to exchange prisoners.
“Today is a day of joy,” Mercury coach Vanessa Nygaard said before the game. “Something amazing and amazing has happened.”
She added, “We brought this black, gay woman back from a Russian prison, and America did so because they appreciated her and because she was a sports player and they appreciated her.”
“Just to be part of a group that values people at such a level makes me proud to be an American. Maybe there are other people that it doesn’t make proud of, but for me, I see BJ and I see hope and I see the future and I have little kids and it makes me really look forward to our country,” she said.
Vice President Kamala Harris He gave a speech before the game to Mercury before Griner returns.
Harris was one of the many notable names to attend the game, along with Magic Johnson, Dawn Staley, and Billie Jean King, among others.
Griner, 32, was the Mercury’s first overall pick in 2013. She made seven All-Star Games and helped Phoenix win the WNBA Finals in 2014.
Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Grenier addressed the media on Thursday.
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