Six months after being freed from a Russian jail, Phoenix Mercury centre Brittney Griner was picked for her sixth WNBA All-Star game. Sunday, Griner was selected a starter for the WNBA All-Star game in Las Vegas on July 15. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert named her an honorary All-Star last year. In February 2022, the 32-year-old LGBTQ pioneer was detained in Russia for possessing cannabis oil in her baggage amid rising Ukraine war tensions. Early on, President Joe Biden’s administration called her “wrongfully detained”.
Griner was arrested while playing in Russia, as many WNBA players do in the off season. She was sentenced to nine years for having vape cartridges containing a minor amount of cannabis oil in August. Griner pled guilty but denied breaking the law or using the illegal drug in Russia. In December, she was exchanged for the “Merchant of Death” Viktor Bout. Former Soviet lieutenant colonel Bout, 55, was accused of equipping rebel groups in some of the world’s worst wars. In the Phoenix Mercury’s season opening against the Los Angeles Sparks in California, Griner played her first WNBA game in 579 days. The WNBA superstar’s homecoming was celebrated at the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles by US Vice President Kamala Harris. Griner cautioned in the pre-season that she would need time to recover following 10 months in Russian captivity. She ranked eighth in the league in points per game on Sunday, exceeding her own expectations. Griner returned Saturday in a 97-74 loss to Seattle after missing three games with a hip ailment. Griner’s 10th WNBA season. Phoenix won the 2014 league title with her.
She averages 19.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and a league-best 2.4 blocks for the struggling Mercury, who are bottom in the Western Conference with two wins and 10 defeats. The All-Star game featured the Mercury’s center. In Chicago last season, all players donned Griner number 42 jerseys for the second half. 50% of game starters are chosen by fans. WNBA players and media panelists each contribute 25%. Players’ scores were computed by averaging their three-group weighted rank. Next month’s All-Star game captains are Las Vegas Aces’ twice MVP A’ja Wilson and New York Liberty’s 2018 MVP Breanna Stewart.
