The 2023 WNBA season is officially underway. The most-watched moment Friday night was, you guessed it, Brittney Griner walking onto the court at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles where she received a standing ovation from the road crowd as she was introduced.
Griner, who played in her first WNBA game in nearly 600 days including 10 months in a Russian prison, made an emotional return to the court, which included a pre-game hug from Vice President Kamala Harris.
VP Harris met with the players from both teams, the Mercury and the LA Sparks, before the game and thanked them for their support while Griner was in Russian custody after being arrested at a Moscow airport with cannabis oil in her bag in February 2022 – one week before Russia invaded Ukraine. Griner, who was in her …