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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Michael Sykes

The 7 best moments from Brittney Griner’s return to the WNBA on opening night

After everything Brittney Griner has been through over the last year or so, she always told us that she was going to get back on the court for this WNBA season.

Here we are 579 days later and Griner is officially back like she never left.

RELATED: The best WNBA storylines to watch this season, including Brittney Griner’s return. 

The Mercury center made her first WNBA appearance since 2021 on Friday when Phoenix played the Sparks. Griner’s Mercury didn’t win the game, but she was impressive nonetheless. And it felt like just about everyone came out to support Griner and show her love for her return.

Here are 7 awesome moments from a night we won’t forget anytime soon.

Outside the arena

The Crypto Dot Com arena in LA was decked out to welcome Brittney Griner back with Nike advertisements on big screens everywhere.

It reads “Basketball is home.”

Brittney Griner arrives at the arena

Here’s when Griner arrived at the arena getting ready to warm up.

Vice President Kamala Harris showed up

Lots of folks came out to support Griner. That includes Vice President Kamala Harris, who came and spoke to both the Sparks and the Mercury in their locker room ahead of the game.

She took this photo with Griner and her teammates.

(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

What a moment.

A big hug with Dawn Staley

Griner also shared a huge hug with South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, who showed a lot of love and support for the Mercury center while she was detained.

Her first bucket

Here’s Griner scoring her first WNBA points in 579 days. This is a pretty incredible moment.

Celebs showed up

Lots of celebrities showed up to show Griner love, too. Obviously, that includes Staley and Harris. But Pau Gasol, Magic and Cookie Johnson, Darvin Ham and more came out to be part of the moment.

Griner put up numbers

Though the Sparks won the game 94-71 after raining down 3-pointers on the Mercury, Griner still had a pretty good night with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks. It’s almost like she never left.

Though I’m sure she’d love to have come out with a win, nothing could’ve spoiled that moment for Griner. What a major accomplishment and a huge moment in history.

Shoutout to BG, man. Glad she’s back.

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