Brittany Griner’s unofficial return to the WNBA on Friday night began with lots of hugs, high fives and a prolonged ovation from the home crowd when she was introduced before tipoff at the Phoenix Mercury’s preseason finale.
It was the first time Griner had played in competition since being released in December. prisoner exchange After spending ten months in a Russian prison for possession of cannabis oil.
how did he do it How about 10 points in 17 minutes? The AP reported that she was carelessly dunking with one hand during warmups.
Once the game began, the 6-foot-9 center scored on a turnaround jumper in the first quarter, fouled on another turnaround and then sank both free throws like he hadn’t stopped playing in over a year. After missing all of the 2022 season, Friday’s game was her first competitive game action in 572 days — since Game 4 of the 2021 WNBA Finals. Phoenix lost Friday’s game to the Los Angeles Sparks, 90–71.
Other courtside reporters said that Griner showed some of the moves that made him one of the most dominant centers of his generation.
Griner finished the game with 10 points on 2-of-5 shooting and a 6-for-8 clip from the free-throw line, along with three rebounds and one block in 17 minutes.
Home opener for Phoenix: Wycliffe Jean will be in the house
The Phoenix Mercury will make their regular season debut in LA on May 19 at 8 p.m. against the Sparks before returning to Phoenix. home opener May 21 against Chicago Sky at 1 PM
Grammy-winning musician and producer according to TMZ wycliffe jean Will reportedly perform at halftime when Phoenix Mercury play Chicago Sky Footprint Center.
At his first press conference in late April, Griner said that she would travel abroad to play basketball only to represent the United States in international competition.
Griner had been playing on the Russian basketball team for seven years when she was detained at a Moscow airport in February 2022, a week before Russia invaded Ukraine.
Photo: Twitter Phoenix Mercury