Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner has excelled in her return to the court this season, earning an All-Star game appearance for the ninth time in her career. She had another excellent game on Sunday, including her first dunk of the season which caught the attention of the basketball world.
This season is obviously a special one for Griner, returning to the court after missing the entirety of the 2022 season after serving ten months in a Russian prison, returning to the United States in a prisoner swap last December.
She showed off her talents on Sunday against the Los Angeles Sparks, scoring 29 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the game. Her most impressive basket came in the second quarter, recording her first dunk of the season of Sparks defender Rae Burrell.
It’s the 25th dunk of her career and her first since Game 2 of the 2021 WNBA Finals. Given all that she has been through to get back to the WNBA, fans were extremely happy for her and shared their excitement on social media.
Brittney Griner dunk szn
pic.twitter.com/tWPSCVokvQ — Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) July 9, 2023
The Phoenix Mercury have not been good as a team, coming into this game with a 3-14 record on the year. However, Griner’s impressive performance in this game helped them come away with their fourth win of the season, beating the Sparks 78-72.