Brittney Griner.Photo:David Becker/NBAE via Getty
David Becker/NBAE via Getty
Brittney Grinerthrew down two dunks and scored 18 points in her dominant return to the WNBA All-Star Game this weekend, celebrating her first season back after being detained in Russia for most of last year.
“I called my knees and talked to them and gave them a little pep talk,” an upbeat Griner, 32, joked after the game, according tothe Associated Press.
Team Stewart’s Jewell Loyd’s 31 points broke the WNBA record for most points in an All-Star Game, but the AP reports Griner was often the player in focus throughout the night.
Her emotional return to the All-Star Game began almost immediately, as the sold out crowd in Las Vegas delivered a raucous ovation when Griner was announced in the starting lineup.“To have that ovation and all those little memories that I can cherish now, it means the world,” Griner told reporters. “So it was no question I was going to come and play. They have never wavered in their support.”
A’ja Wilson and Brittney Griner.Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty
Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty
The joyous response to seeing Griner back on the court has been something the Phoenix Mercury star has enjoyed all season long thus far. The 2014 WNBA champion made her return to basketball in late May, calling it a “surreal feeling” being back on a basketball court with familiar faces from around the league supporting her.“It’s incredible to have her here, to have her on my team,” Stewart, 28, told ESPN, joking that she “had to do some behind-the-scenes negotiations” with Wilson, 26, to be able to draft Griner to her All-Star team.
Brittney Griner.Jamie Squire/Getty
Jamie Squire/Getty
“It’s really inspiring the way she continues to carry herself and use her platform for something bigger,” Stewart continued, referencing Griner’s work off the court to raise awareness for Americans still detained overseas. “And the way she’s able to come back and be a force, be a presence on the court. We’ve all missed it, and enjoy watching her play.”
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Griner has averaged 19.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game throughout her first nine games back this season.
“I’m just taking it in,” Griner said this weekend. “I definitely appreciate it even more.”
source: people.com
