Brittney Griner (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Longtime women’s basketball star Brittney Griner is not taking living in America for granted after her freedom was taken from her overseas.

Before her stint in a Russian prison, Brittney Griner had been outspoken about being on the court during the National Anthem, saying, “I’m not going to be out there for the National Anthem. If the (WNBA) continues to want to play it, that’s fine. It will be all season long; I’ll not be out there.”

She added: “I honestly feel we should not play the national anthem during our season.”

That was during a 2020 interview, and things have certainly changed since then.

Griner, who recently got her 2024 regular started after recovering from an injury, was arrested in Russia for the majority of 2022 after she was found to have cannabis in her backpack while at an airport.

Griner was sentenced to 9 years in a Russian prison on charges of smuggling drugs into the country. She spent most of 2022 imprisoned before Joe Biden and his team were able to work a trade that sent Viktor Bout, the so-called Merchant of Death, back to Russia.

Now that she has been back for over a year, Griner says the national anthem “definitely hit different.”

The Mercury superstar says she no longer takes what she has in America for granted.

“I’m grateful to be here, that’s for sure. I’m not going to take a day for granted,” Griner said via NY Post. “Hearing the national anthem, it definitely hit different,” Griner said. “It’s like when you go for the Olympics, you’re sitting there, about to get gold put on your neck, the flags are going up, and the anthem is playing, it just hits different. … Being here today … it means a lot.”

Brittney Griner To Represent America After Being Named to Third USA Basketball Olympic Roster

Brittney Griner (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
USA Basketball has announced the official women’s roster for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris, and Brittney Griner is set to be on it.

The Olympics are a patriotic event, so this will be the first time we will see her during the Anthem after being released from a Russian prison.

REPORT: Surprising New Candidate Has Suddenly Emerged Out Of Nowhere For The Los Angeles Lakers Head Coaching Job

Los Angeles Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
More bad news for JJ Redick, as after Dan Hurley, another college basketball phenom, Jay Wright, entered the chat to vie for the vacant Los Angeles Lakers HC job. Since the firing of Darvin Ham following the Lakers’ first-round exit, Redick led the race to land the job, but within a space of 72 hours, he is now drifting far from it.

Jay Wright, the 2-time NCAA championship-winning coach, has emerged as a “stealth candidate” for the coveted job. As per Marc Stein, the former Villanova HC has an outside chance to land the job if the Lakers decide to move away from Hurley due to his commitment to UConn. “I had been warned early on by one well-placed insider, for what it’s worth, to stay ready in case former Villanova coach Jay Wright emerged as a stealth candidate,” the NBA insider said.

After finishing his 21-year stint with Villanova, Wright left the coaching role in 2022. Since then, he has been linked with several high-profile jobs in the NBA, but this is the most recent about him. If Dan Hurley remains with the Huskies after delivering back-to-back NCAA championships, Wright could be a viable option for the Lakers.

With Hurley setting a deadline for his Lakers decision, it’s a guessing game around the vacant seat.