This week, Brittney Griner officially announced her return to the Mercury for the 2023 season after she missed all of last year while detained in Russia over drug charges. On Friday, Phoenix posted its first video of Griner back in a Mercury uniform since her return the United States.
The team held a photoshoot with the center for the upcoming season and posted a behind the scenes video of the event. Griner can be seen smiling and playing around with a basketball and the crew in between shots.
After being detained on Feb. 17, Griner was released as part of a prisoner swap on Dec. 8, with the U.S. releasing international arms dealer Viktor Bout to Russia. Griner had been sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony after a lengthy trial that ended in August.
Noticeably in the video, Griner is without her signature dreadlocks, sporting much shorter hair. According to ESPN’s T.J. Quinn, she decided to cut her hair off during her detainment to make it easier to deal with the harsh Russian winter.
Griner has spent her entire WNBA career with the Mercury, making seven All-Star games and winning two Defensive Player of the Year awards and one WNBA title in nine total seasons. When she last played in 2021, Griner averaged 20.5 points and a career-high 9.5 rebounds per game.
