In her 1st WNBA game in 579 days, Brittney Griner had 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks in Friday’s game against the Sparks.
The Phoenix Mercury center was making an immediate impact in her 1st WNBA regular-season game since being jailed in Russia. The game was on the road at Crypto.com arena, and Griner’s head coach had spoken out about how the arena wasn’t even filled to capacity.
The arena wasn’t filled, but how many people actually tuned in?
Despite the fact that the game didn’t begin until well after 11 p.m. ET, it received the sixth-best TV ratings in the 18-49 demographic for any original cable telecast on Friday, according to ShowBuzzDaily. Griners’ first WNBA game since her detention in Russia drew an average of 683,000 TV watchers on ESPN.
She was even better in her home debut, but the Mercury still lost and the team is now 0-2 to start the season.
It’s going to take a while for the team to get back to gelling together like they once did.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral WNBA stories via Google! Follow Us
With everything that has happened off the court, it’s easy to overlook Griner’s probably greatest season in 2021. After averaging 20.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and nearly two blocks per game, she finished second in the MVP voting. She helped the Mercury to the WNBA Finals before falling to the Chicago Sky.
The Mercury will be back in action Thursday night at home against the Minnesota Lynx.
