Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner returns after mental health break
Brittney Griner is set to return to the court, the Phoenix Mercury announced Saturday.
She is expected to join the team as they host the Seattle Storm at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday night in the second matchup of a four-game homestand.
Griner sat out three games after the Mercury shared the news a week ago that she would be taking a break to focus on her mental health. Phoenix lost two road games and then beat the Atlanta Dream 91-71 on Thursday when Diana Taurasi scored her 10,000th career point, becoming the first player in WNBA history to reach the mark. Griner joined in the celebrations to honor her teammate.
Griner has appeared in 20 games this season after missing all of last year while she was wrongfully detained in Russia for 10 months. She is averaging 18.2 points per game, 6.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, and was named to her ninth All-Star team last month, wowing in the game with three dunks.
The Mercury sit at 7-19 and are tenth in the WNBA standings with 14 games left in the season. They are four games behind the Chicago Sky, who currently hold the last playoff spot. Phoenix has won the WNBA championship three times and have only missed the playoffs twice since 2007.