PHOENIX — The public address announcer paused before introducing the final player in the Mercury’s starting lineup on Sunday. The song “Coming Home” by Skylar Grey began to play, and then Brittney Griner appeared on a red carpet with tall video screens behind her, an entrance befitting a rock star.
It was Griner’s first regular-season home game since 2021. She missed last season because she was imprisoned in Russia, caught in a geopolitical showdown between Washington and Moscow. But on Sunday, minutes before her team faced the Chicago Sky, Griner stood with her arms crossed in an “X” in front of her chest to acknowledge the Mercury fan base, which has the nickname the X-factor. Then she ran down the red carpet and onto the court.
Griner embraced the Sky starters at half court, wiping tears as she tightened her shorts, tucked in her jersey and prepared for the tipoff. She scored the game’s first 3 points, energizing the thousands of fans who had come to see her.
“Part of the process of healing is kind of just letting it out,” Griner said. “So, yeah, I got choked up a little bit but tried to hide it.”
Sunday’s game against the Sky wrapped up Griner’s first weekend back in the W.N.B.A., which began with a game against the Sparks in Los Angeles on Friday….
