'Just taking it in,' Griner appreciative of All-Star Weekend - ESPN

LAS VEGAS — Brittney Griner and Breanna Stewart sat side-by-side on the dais Friday, former Olympic teammates now playing on the same All-Star team. A year ago, this was the scene everyone in the WNBA hoped for, but didn't know if they would see again.

Team Stewart will face Team A'ja Wilson in the WNBA All-Star Game here at Michelob Ultra Arena on Saturday (ABC/ESPN App, 8:30 p.m. ET). The Phoenix Mercury's Griner, who was voted in as a starter, said it has felt both surreal and exciting for her to be back among the best of her peers.

«I'm just taking it in, and I definitely appreciate it even more,» said Griner, who is an All-Star for the eighth time, including last year when she was named in an honorary capacity.

Griner missed all of the 2022 WNBA season while being detained in Russia. During the 2022 All-Star Game in Chicago, players from both teams donned No. 42 jerseys for the second half in honor of Griner.

«I found out a little after the fact, and it was emotional for sure,» Griner said of her reaction when she heard of that tribute while still in Russian prison. «Just seeing that love and support and how everyone was so on board for me. In that moment, it was everything.»

Griner, who was freed in a prisoner exchange with Russia last December, was New York Liberty star Stewart's first choice as All-Star captain. The two played for gold-winning Team USA in the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.

«Looking back to last year, at All-Star and through the entire season, there was a void in the WNBA, there was something that was missing,» Stewart said. «And that was BG. We continued to do whatever we could to make sure that she knew we were still thinking of her, that we were still fighting for her.

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