{"id":5547,"date":"2023-05-20T03:44:11","date_gmt":"2023-05-20T08:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=5547"},"modified":"2023-05-20T03:44:11","modified_gmt":"2023-05-20T08:44:11","slug":"brittney-griner-makes-official-return-to-wnba-following-russian-imprisonment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/brittney-griner-makes-official-return-to-wnba-following-russian-imprisonment\/","title":{"rendered":"Brittney Griner makes official return to WNBA following Russian imprisonment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brittney Griner made her official return to the WNBA and the Phoenix Mercury during her team\u2019s 2023 season opener against the Los Angeles Sparks Friday. <\/p>\n

Ahead of tip-off, Griner received a standing ovation from the Crypto.com Arena crowd.<\/p>\n

\n\n

Brittney Griner receives a standing ovation at https:\/\/t.co\/qiCMWv8ut3<\/a> Arena. pic.twitter.com\/TAKNnl5ivc<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) May 20, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/span>\n<\/div>\n

She wasted no time making an impact<\/a>, connecting on her first jump shot off the dish from Diana Taurasi. <\/p>\n

\n\n

BRITTNEY GRINER IS BACK pic.twitter.com\/6mWXeVGvEi<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) May 20, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/span>\n<\/div>\n

Griner inked a one-year, $165,100 deal this offseason to return to the Mercury for a 10th season. She signed her deal shortly after returning to the U.S. after spending 10 months in Russian detainment on drug charges. Griner was part of a one-on-one prisoner swap for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. <\/p>\n

She last suited up for the Mercury in 2021, where she averaged 20.5 points and a career-high 9.5 rebounds per game. Griner led her team to the WNBA Finals, where the Chicago Sky ousted the Mercury in four games. She has been an All-Star in seven of her nine seasons, with career averages of 17.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game.<\/p>\n

Speaking with reporters after a preseason game last Friday, Griner admitted she didn\u2019t believe she\u2019d be back out on the court this quickly. <\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think I would be sitting here and playing basketball this quickly,\u201d Griner said. \u201cComing back, I didn\u2019t know how it was going to go, getting back into it. I\u2019m not going to take a day for granted, but it was a lot to take it all in and it was good to get this one out of the way before we go out to LA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brittney Griner stands for national anthem during WNBA return<\/h2>\n

Griner, who said in 2020 she would not come out for the playing of the national anthem amid the George Floyd protests, reversed course during the Mercury\u2019s season opener. She stood alongside her teammates, as she did during the preseason tilt. <\/p>\n

Griner\u2019s agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, recently wrote<\/a> an op-ed in TIME<\/em>, and explained why Griner made the decision to stand for the national anthem this season. <\/p>\n

\u201cHaving been put in a\u00a0literal cage, too small for her frame, stripped of her essential American freedoms, and deprived of even her most basic rights during a sham trial and unjust sentencing, Brittney, supported by many other players, will make a statement this WNBA season by standing tall for those uniquely American freedoms,\u201d Kagawa Colas wrote, \u201cthe most important of which being the absolute and inviolable and constitutionally protected freedom to stand, sit, kneel, praise, protest, and otherwise make your voice heard.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Brittney Griner makes official return to WNBA following Russian imprisonment<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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