Brittney Griner sat down behind a microphone at Phoenix’s Footprint Center in late April, clad in a black T-shirt, pants and sneakers while wearing a familiar smile that hadn’t been seen in her home arena in a year and a half.
In her first meeting with the media since returning to the United States in December 2022 after a 10-month detainment in a Russian prison, Griner showcased her typical sense of humor — she referred to longtime teammate Diana Taurasi as a “walking fossil.” Griner almost seemed like the same person as the one who played her last game with the Phoenix Mercury in the 2021 WNBA Finals.
“I’m a jokester,” Griner said. “I used humor a lot throughout this whole experience.”
But she also acknowledged being forever changed.
“I’m no stranger to hard times,” Griner said then. “You’re going to be faced with adversities throughout your life, and this was a pretty big one. You find a way to just grind it out.”
Concern for Griner defined much of the 2022 WNBA season. Welcoming her back was huge in 2023. From a visit by Vice President Kamala Harris for Griner’s first regular-season game, to the deep emotional reconnection to Mercury fans, to ovations in every WNBA arena, Griner expressed how much the support meant to her.
And she played at a high level….
