Brittney Griner (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner is representing Team USA again and has changed her tune on American policy following her imprisonment in Russia.

Griner used to be critical of the U.S. and its politics, but she feels differently about a lot of things after her overseas ordeal and is now happy to wear the Team USA jersey again after getting to return home.

Griner, who is gearing up to represent her country at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France, spoke to the Associated Press ahead of the tournament and expressed what it means to her to wear the uniform again.

“It means everything to me honestly,” she said. “For me to now have the honor to wear it again and potentially win gold is icing on the cake for everything.”

Brittney Griner Isn’t Letting Saturday’s Loss Deter Her

Brittney Griner and her Team USA teammates are coming off a loss to the WNBA All-Stars on Saturday night, but she feels good about their chances and reckons it’s a credit to the league’s talent.

“They’re really good. They have plenty of talent on that team. Four years prior I’m pretty sure Team WNBA beat Team USA, [and] they were perfectly fine in the Olympics,” she remarked.

“If anything, it shows how good this league is. It shows how much talent is in this league and how you have to show up and prepare every single night. There’s a lot of players that aren’t even here tonight that could be here too. It just shows the amount of talent we have.”

The games will kick off on Friday night, with NBC and Peacock to provide coverage.

VIDEO: Cameras Caught The Incredibly Sad Reactions Of Duke Star Kyle Filipowski & His Girlfriend While Leaving The NBA Draft After Going Undrafted

Kyle Filipowski and his girlfriend (Photo via @DarDZel/Twitter)
While Wednesday night went well for thirty new draft picks, some were left disappointed. One such player is Duke’s, Kyle Filipowski, who had high hopes of finding his new home in the NBA. Instead, he went back empty-handed.

The 7-foot offensive center was present in the Barclays Center green room with his nearby ones waiting for his name to be called out. However, in the pool of talented players, Filipowski couldn’t make the spot. This does not mean he has missed the opportunity this year. The 20-year-old might not have made it into the first round, but the second one is still left.

One of the saddest moments from the event shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) was Filipowski hugging his girlfriend. The young athlete looked disheartened by the situation while she tried to console him.

The Blue Devils’ standout put up 16.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in the 2023-2024 season. Filipowski did display his shooting skills, but that wasn’t enough for the Duke man to engage in a contract with any franchise.

The short video soon circulated on the internet, reaching the NBA community, who didn’t hold back from reacting to his mourning moment.