Photographs & article by Eric Brown Jr.
Las Vegas, Nevada - Scoring the first six points for her team and throwing down two dunks, Brittney
Griner made an emotional return to the 2023 WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday night. The
sold-out Michelob Ultra Arena crowd roared when Griner was introduced and she was visibly
moved by the thousands of fans who missed her last year.
“I didn’t think I’d be here today,” the nine-time all-star Griner said. “Everyone sending the letters and the love, meant a lot to me.”
Griner led Team Stewart, captained by New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart, to a 143-127
over Team Wilson headed up by the Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson.
Team Stewart’s Jewell Loyd of the Seattle Storm came into the game as the league’s leading
scorer, and left with the All-Star scoring record and the MVP trophy. Loyd was unstoppable from
downtown, and dropped 31 points to cement her name in the record books and lead Team
Stewart to victory over Team Wilson.
“I had extra motivation,” Loyd said. “My family’s here. I want to say happy 40th anniversary to
my parents. My nephew and niece are up there too. They wanted me to shoot a of 3s, so that’s
exactly what I did. I think I told Sabrina [Ionescu] that – we’re gonna put up a lot of 3s. It’s a
special moment, honestly. It’s beautiful for the league and I’m happy I was able to do it in front of
my family.”
This year's game featured a 20-second shot clock rather than the usual 24, two four-point spots
on each side of the court were added and there were no free throws. New York’s Sabrina
Ionescu, from Team Stewart, made all three of her four-point attempts in the first half and
finished the night with 18 points.
The Phoenix Mercury will host the WNBA All-Star Game in 2024, making it the third time the
franchise has hosted the event.
Article originally written for fi360news.com.
