LOS ANGELES -- The standing ovation as a visiting player, the VIPs -- including the vice president -- present, the feeling of celebrating something much bigger than sports -- Brittney Griner appreciated it all. But, she pointed out, it was still a basketball game -- and her Phoenix Mercury lost.
A player lamenting a loss was the most normal, routine part of Friday's WNBA season opener for the Mercury and host Los Angeles Sparks. But it was just the first game of a 40-game regular season, and the second comes Sunday when Griner gets her welcome-home greeting in Phoenix as the Mercury host the Chicago Sky (4 p.m. ET, ESPN). It's a rematch of the 2021 WNBA Finals, which, before Friday, was the last time Griner had played in the WNBA.
The Sparks started a new era Friday under coach Curt Miller with a 94-71 win at Crypto.com Arena. The Mercury were missing guard Sophie Cunningham, a key player from last season who is injured. Griner started and led Phoenix in scoring with 18 points, going 7-of-9 from the field. She also had 6 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 assists.
She reminded everyone she is still a competitor, and her goal remains the same: help the Mercury win another title. But considering a year ago at this time, Griner was detained in Russia with no one knowing when -- or even if -- she might come home to the United States, let alone play basketball again, Friday's loss took nothing away from the greater feeling of what Griner's coach, Vanessa Nygaard, called a miracle. Griner was back.
Friday's game started at 11 p.m. ET, so some fans might not have made it to the end awake. But if they were tuned in at tipoff, they saw Vice President Kamala Harris in attendance, and Griner make her first shot from the field.
"Not good enough -- didn't get the W," Griner said of her performance. "Whatever I did out there, it was nice to be back. The love from the fans when I came out was amazing. I definitely felt that. I mean, I felt it when I was over there."
Griner was arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport in February 2022 when she was returning to Russia to continue her overseas basketball season there 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 2022, the State Department designated Griner as wrongfully detained. But in August, Griner was sentenced to a nine-year prison term, which her lawyers said was excessive for the offense. She returned home in December through a negotiated prisoner exchange between the United States and Russia.
Soon after she got back, Griner announced she wanted to return to the WNBA this summer, a big undertaking considering she hadn't been able to play basketball for most of 2022. She began workouts right away and competed in an exhibition game May 12 in Phoenix. That started the ball rolling to what she hopes is a full return to her old self. Each step along the way, she's hoping for progress.
"You know, all of those small moments that I used to just think, 'Oh, I'm so tired' or 'I don't want to go to practice today,'" Griner said. "I think that that has changed."
One thing is the same: The WNBA is a very physical league. The 6-foot-9 Griner is used to it, but she smiled wryly when asked about a few plays in the game in which it looked like she was grimacing.
"Which one? The one to the face or the hit to the shin?" she said. "That took me back to when I was playing soccer; getting kicked in the shin is never fun. You know, it's part of the game, just got tied up and took a shin to a shin. So that never feels great."
But overall, it was an unforgettable night. Griner said she let herself experience the emotions but also didn't want to get too caught up in them.
"It was just taking it in but staying focused," she said. "Because at the end of the day, I'm at work. I've got a job to do."