SEATTLE (AP) — Brittney Griner returned to action for the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday night, getting the start in Seattle against the Storm.
Griner suffered a hip injury when the Mercury and Seattle met in Phoenix on June 13. She left that game during the second quarter and did not return, and the Storm went on to an 83-69 win. She subsequently missed the next three games, all of them losses.
Phoenix also welcomed Diana Taurasi back to the starting lineup on Saturday. She also missed the last three games with a hamstring injury suffered during that same home game against Seattle.
This was Griner’s first appearance in Seattle since a 2021 playoff game. She missed all of last season while being detained in Russia on a drug possession charge. Griner returned to the United States after her release in December and rejoined the Mercury.
It was the second road game she’s played since an incident in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport on June 9 when Griner was harassed by a social media “provocateur” as the team was heading to its flight for a game in Indiana. Since then, the Mercury and the WNBA have been evaluating travel options for Griner and the team.
Griner has been welcomed warmly around the league, and Saturday in Seattle was no different. She was the last player introduced among the Phoenix starting five, and received a standing ovation from the crowd. She tapped her heart several times and waved to both sides of Climate Pledge Arena.
During early warm-ups, a small group of fans standing along the rail above the player entrance to the playing floor greeted her with, “Hey, BG!” and “Welcome back” when the Mercury took the court. She slapped hands with several of them and said, “Thank you.”
On her way back to the locker room about 50 minutes before the game, Griner posed for several photos with fans — even taking some of the phones and snapping the pictures herself. She also exchanged a few hugs, signed autographs, and gave some high-fives
Griner and her teammates remained on the court for the national anthem. The Storm players, as has been their practice, left prior to the anthem and returned afterward.
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