Global Courant 2023-05-20 10:51:45
LOS ANGELES — Brittney Griner had 18 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots Friday night in her first WNBA regular-season game since being imprisoned in Russia. Her Phoenix Mercury lost to the Los Angeles Sparks 94-71 in the team’s opener.
Griner made an immediate impression. She fired a pass at Moriah Jefferson, who hit a three-pointer for Phoenix’s first basket. Griner grabbed a pair of rebounds and scored twice to help the Mercury take an early lead.
“Just how good did she look? Unbelievable,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told reporters at halftime as the Sparks led 45-39.
Griner played for 25 minutes, spending the last few minutes on the bench as the Mercury was put to flight.
For the first time since last season, Phoenix coach Vanessa Nygaard opened up on her pregame comments without announcing how many days Griner was incarcerated.
Griner has been out since December, when she was part of a high-profile prisoner swap.
“Until the day we got the news in the morning that she was on her way home, no one thought this would happen,” Nygaard said. “We probably enjoyed our work less than professional athletes. It was tough every day.”
Not anymore.
“Today is a day of joy,” said Nygaard. “Something amazing, amazing happened.”
Griner and the Mercury were greeted with a standing ovation as they took to the track for pre-game warm-ups, though the biggest cheer was reserved for the Sparks.
Griner hugged Vice President Kamala Harris and First Mr. Doug Emhoff as they left court after Harris was presented with a No. 49 Sparks jersey. Previously, Harris posed for photos in Mercury’s locker room.
Griner scored 10 points in 17 minutes in an exhibition loss to the Sparks last week. It was the 32-year-old center’s first competition action since she was arrested at a Moscow airport February 2022 after Russian authorities said a search of her luggage found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.
“We brought this black, gay woman back from a Russian prison and America did that because they valued her and she was a female athlete and they valued her,” Nygaard said.
“Just to be part of a group that values people on that level makes me very proud to be an American. Maybe there are other people they are not proud of, but for me I see BG and I see hope and I see the future and I have young kids and it really makes me hopeful about our country,” said the coach.
Fans who showed up early to the Crypto.com Arena wore T-shirts with Griner’s name and jersey number on them. The 6-foot-9 Griner stopped to photograph a group of young girls posing for the game.
Billie Jean King and wife Ilana Kloss, who co-own the Sparks, were in attendance for the opener, as were Magic Johnson, Pau Gasol, Byron Scott, Robert Horry, Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham, and South Carolina women’s coach Dawn Staley.
Since her release Griner has used her platform to plead for other Americans detained abroad. She has been an LGBTQ+ activist since coming out publicly in 2013.
“She represents so many people, so many different types of people who can be undervalued in our society,” Nygaard said. “She stands with pride and confidence and has never shied away from who she is.”
Griner announced in April that she is working with Bring Our Families Home, a campaign launched last year by the relatives of American hostages and wrongful prisoners held abroad. She said her team has been in touch with the family of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is being held in Russia on espionage charges.
“She’s a great person on and off the field,” said Phoenix guard Moriah Jefferson. “I think her energy inspires everyone every day to show up and be the best version of themselves.”
With all that has happened off the field, it’s easy to forget that Griner had arguably her best season in 2021. She finished second in the MVP voting after averaging 20.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and nearly two blocks per game. She was a major reason the Mercury reached the WNBA Finals before losing to the Chicago Sky.
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