Brittney Griner made an emphatic and emotional return to the WNBA's mid-season showcase event.
She scored her team's first six points, put down two dunks and finished with 18 points in the league's All-Star Game on Saturday night.
Griner led Team Stewart, captained by the New York Liberty's Breanna Stewart, to a 143-127 over Team Wilson, led by the Aces' A'ja Wilson. Griner at this time last year was being held in Russia on drug charges, sparking international outrage that she was being wrongfully held. The WNBA named her an honorary starter, with every player wearing her No. 42 jersey in the second half of last year's game.
"I called my knees and talked to them and gave them a little pep talk," the 32-year-old Griner said of her dunks. Griner was among the players who wore microphones during the game, joking after missing a 3-pointer that she "got something in my eye."