Brittney Griner News

Brittney Griner, a prominent player for the Phoenix Mercury, showcased her skills in the WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday, July 15. This marked her first appearance since her release from a Russian penal colony in December of the previous year. During the game held in Las Vegas, Griner, a nine-time WNBA All-Star, displayed her prowess by contributing 18 points to her team's success.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer known as the “Merchant of Death," walked out of a U.S. jail almost two years ago in a trade with Moscow for U.S.

Moscow released Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan in a multinational deal, according to officials in Turkey, where the exchange took place. The Journal confirmed that Gershkovich had been freed. It's the latest exchange between Washington and Moscow in the past two years, following a December 2022 trade that brought WNBA star Brittney Griner back to the US in exchange for notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout.

Russian media say a court in Moscow has extended the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges, until Jan. 30

Sabrina Ionescu smashed the records of the NBA and WNBA in the three-point contest on Friday and won the crown. The New York Liberty’s point guard Sabrina Ionescu created history when she scored 37 out of 40 possible points by hitting 25 out of 27 possible shots. She sunk the NBA record of 31 set by Steph Curry in 2021 and Tyrese Haliburton in 2023. Besides, she also smashed the WNBA record of 30 set by Allie Quigley in 2022. Reacting to the feat, Allie Quigley congratulated Sabrina calling it ‘unbelievable.’ Steph Curry called it ‘ridiculous.’ There can be no higher compliment when basketball superstars like Quigley and Curry say this. Seattle Storm’s Sami Whitcomb who came second with 22 points and Dallas Wings’ Arike Ogunbowale who finished third with 11 points came nowhere near Sabrina and they cannot be compared. In the game of a three-point contest, players take five shots from five different locations around the three-point line. They also make two attempts from a deeper range. Each rack has four balls, and each ball has one point. The multi-colored ball has two points. A player gets three points for a deeper shot. Each player must choose one rack and the five balls have two points. Sabrina hit each of her chosen balls.Sabrina Ionescu will participate in the 2023 WNBA All-Star game at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson, Indiana Fever’s Aliyah Boston, and Phoenix Mercury’s Brittney Griner may also take part in the game.

2023 WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday, July 15. The game this year includes a rematch between the captains of the New York Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces, Breanna Stewart and A'ja Wilson. You can find all the details you need about the event here, including the start time, TV channel, available streaming services, and the entire rosters for both teams.

US basketball star Brittney Griner was released from a Russian prison on Thursday in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange with an arms dealer nicknamed the "Merchant of Death".

The legal team for Alexander Vinnik, a Russian national recently extradited to the United States for his alleged role at defunct crypto exchange BTC-e, has reportedly been urging officials to consider a prisoner swap. 

As the relations between the U.S. and Russia remain stringent due to the latter country’s invasion of Ukraine, a lawyer for a Russian citizen accused of laundering more than USD 4bn worth of crypto has called on the Kremlin to facilitate a prisoner exchange involving his client with Washington.

A Russian diplomat confirmed on Saturday that Moscow and Washington are discussing a possible prisoner exchange. 

Earlier on Thursday: 

A judge in Russia convicted American basketball star Brittney Griner of drug possession and smuggling Thursday and sentenced her to nine years in prison.