Brittney Griner, in her first public statement since her nearly 300-day detainment in Russia, said Friday that she intends to play the 2023 season in the WNBA for the Phoenix Mercury.
It’s promising news for the basketball world, although since Griner’s release last week, most WNBA players, executives and fans have tried not to fixate on what her return to the United States would mean for the star’s basketball future or whether she’d ever set foot on the court again.
“We’ll follow her lead, we’ll do whatever she wants,” Mercury president Vince Kozar told ESPN last week. “Part of the joy that she’s brought to people is how she plays and the way she plays and who she is when she plays.
“And I’d be lying if I didn’t say there was some kind of anticipation or excitement about the idea that everyone would get to experience that again, but that’s not what matters most.”
Still, the game hasn’t seemed too far from Griner’s mind since returning home. She did a light basketball workout Sunday, ESPN reported, where her first act was a dunk.
The prospect of Griner — a WNBA champion, eight-time All-Star, three-time first-team All-WNBA selection and former MVP contender — taking the floor with the Mercury when the season tips May 19, about 23 weeks after her release, is thrilling for…
