PHOENIX -- Brittney Griner will not play overseas again unless it is with the U.S. national team, she said Thursday in her first news conference since being released in December after a 10-month detainment in Russia.
Griner also spoke of her concern for other Americans who are being detained internationally, what helped her get through her imprisonment and her belief in her ability to return to an elite level in the WNBA. The Phoenix Mercury center smiled frequently, laughed, shed some tears and spoke passionately at Footprint Center, her home arena since she was drafted at No. 1 in 2013.
"I'm no stranger to hard times," Griner said about the resilience she needed during her detainment. "You're going to be faced with adversities throughout your life, and this was a pretty big one. But I just kind of relied on my hard work. Getting through it. You find a way to just grind it out."
Griner's wife, Cherelle; Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs; and Mercury coach Vanessa Nygaard were among those in attendance Thursday. Griner asked for a round of applause for Cherelle and then thanked many people, including her family, President Joe Biden and his administration, the Mercury organization, the WNBA, and fans who worked for her freedom and helped her remember she wasn't alone.
"When I did lose my hope, looking at photos of my family brought my hope back," Griner said. "You're waiting to be back with your family, your loved ones, in a safe place."
Griner did not go into the specifics of being imprisoned in Russia from February to December 2022 but did address what it was like to be back with the Mercury and her goals for the upcoming WNBA season despite the physical challenges after being away from basketball for so long.
"I always believe in my ability," she said. "Being realistic, am I exactly where I want to be? No. But I'm on the right track.
"The first two weeks, first month [of basketball training] ... it was hard. At first, there was a point where it was like, 'Wow, do I really want to do this this fast right now?' But it was so worth it."
Griner was arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport in February 2022 when she was returning to Russia to continue her overseas season with UMMC Ekaterinburg. Russian customs officials said they found vape canisters with cannabis oil in her luggage, which she later acknowledged in court while saying she had no criminal intent and had packed them in haste.
In May, the State Department designated Griner as unlawfully detained. But in August, Griner was sentenced to a nine-year prison term, which her lawyers said was excessive for the offense.
It was clear then that Griner's only hope of returning home sooner was through a negotiated prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Russian governments. In December, Griner returned to the United States and arms dealer Viktor Bout was freed and went back to Russia. The exchange was made in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Asked Thursday whether she would compete internationally again at any point, Griner was definitive.
"I'm never going overseas to play again unless it's to represent my country," she said. "The whole reason a lot of us go over is the pay gap ... to support our families, to support ourselves. So I don't knock any player that wants to go overseas.
"I'm hoping that our league continues to grow. I hope a lot [more] companies start to invest in our craft."
Griner, a 32-year-old from Houston, will be playing her 10th WNBA season, all with the Mercury. She won the 2014 title with Phoenix and played in the 2021 WNBA Finals, when the Mercury lost to the Chicago Sky. The deciding Game 4 of that series, on Oct. 17, 2021, was the last game Griner has played in the WNBA.
She missed the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup last year. Griner has been a longtime member of the U.S. national team and won gold medals at two Olympics and two World Cup competitions.
Griner has averaged 17.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in her WNBA career. She was the WNBA's Defensive Player of the Year twice and is a three-time All-WNBA first-team selection.
The Mercury had a challenging 2022 season under first-year coach Nygaard, with Tina Charles leaving the team around midseason and Skylar Diggins-Smith leaving with two games left in the regular season. Longtime Mercury star Diana Taurasi didn't play in the final five games of the regular season or in the postseason because of a quad injury. Still, the 15-21 Mercury made the playoffs, losing in the first round to the eventual champion Las Vegas Aces.
In a moment of levity Thursday, Griner was asked about returning to play with Taurasi, who turns 41 in June and whom Griner credits as her greatest mentor in basketball.
"I mean, who wouldn't want to play with a walking fossil?" Griner joked. "No, I was really worried, actually, that she was going to retire on me while I was gone. That was killing me. I'm really thankful that she's still here."
On Tuesday, Taurasi said she was seeing improvements from Griner in workouts.
"There are all these little moments that she keeps stacking up," Taurasi said of Griner. "And it's going to be a big training camp for her to get back where she wants to go. But we're all here helping, and hopefully we could all do it together."
WNBA training camps start Sunday. The regular season begins May 19, with Griner and the Mercury on the road to face the Los Angeles Sparks. Phoenix's first home game is May 21 against Chicago.
Griner and the Mercury also on Thursday announced a partnership with the Bring Our Families Home organization, which advocates on behalf of Americans who are held hostage or wrongfully detained in other countries. According to BOFH, there currently are 54 Americans in that situation in seven countries, with some of them having been held for more than a decade.
"I'm never going overseas to play again unless it's to represent my country. The whole reason a lot of us go over is the pay gap ... to support our families, to support ourselves. So I don't knock any player that wants to go overseas."Brittney Griner
The Mercury will have a BOFH logo on their court for home games, replacing the BG42 logo the team had last season during Griner's detainment. There is now a mural outside Footprint Center of Griner and other detainees. The Mercury will also host families and friends of detainees and have letter-writing stations for fans to write to detainees and advocate for them.
Griner said that letters helped her get through her detainment and that she struggles with the knowledge of what other Americans are going through now.
"It's hard. You know I come from a military family," said Griner, whose father was in the Marines. "I have that mindset ... no one left behind. It hurts, because no one should be in those conditions that I went through and they're going through. I hope everyone continues to bring awareness and fight to bring home everyone."