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.
FIRST DUNK OF THE SEASON ✔
Brittney Griner puts it down and has now racked up 12 PTS for the @PhoenixMercury
📲 League Pass pic.twitter.com/0w9fSG1KEO
— WNBA (@WNBA) July 9, 2023
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
Brittney Griner with the SLAM for her first dunk of the year 🔥 pic.twitter.com/i66v9hEAXe
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 9, 2023
BRITTNEY GRINER DUNK 😤
🎥: @WNBA pic.twitter.com/Fv1bjf0txf
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) July 9, 2023
Brittney Griner putting down her first dunk of the season 👏
(via @WNBA)
pic.twitter.com/o7KmxyNuih— Ball Don’t Lie (@Balldontlie) July 9, 2023
HEARD YOU BRITTNEY GRINER‼️ pic.twitter.com/LwMaNZSh0g
— Girls Can't Dunk (@girlscantdunk) July 9, 2023
Brittney Griner with her first dunk in the WNBA this year 🔥🏀
Welcome back BG ✊🏾
pic.twitter.com/HbtaC98lUI— UFM TV™️ (@UFMTV_) July 10, 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.
