American Brittney Griner is a famous professional basketball player, out lesbian and sportsperson enjoying the best form of her glittering career. The 31-year-old from Houston, Texas, who officially declared her sexuality during a 2013 interview, has been making headlines for her remarkable achievements on the course since debuting the same year but it appears there’s plenty more to come from the star of WNBA and she’s only now coming into the prime of her career.
Griner is viewed by many as the biggest name in female basketball, loved for her humor and attitude to sport and life as much as her determination when shooting hoops. The Phoenix Mercury center, a product of Nimitz High School in her home state, already has a stunning list of honors in basketball and if her current form holds, there will be a few more trophies around the Griner household to show off.
The towering 6-foot-9-inch player played an important role in Phoenix’s rise to the WNBA Finals this season, silencing the team’s many doubters and even a fair share of bookmakers across the world, from traders at the leading Canadian betting sites to those working on the floor of sports books in Las Vegas. Fans of Mercury have allowed themselves the chance to dream and with Griner carrying the team forward, they have every right to.
Game two of the WNBA Finals was another example of the scintillating form Griner is in at the crucial end of the season, dragging her team to victory and past a dogged opponent in Chicago Sky, one many thought the beaten team would win. Chicago did have plenty of opportunities to claim victory in that match and led on the scoreboard for long periods but there was one major difference between two evenly matched sides playing the most important game of their campaign. That difference was the Houston center.
Griner was the star of the show in game two, finding another level when the match got tough, stepping up and delivering when many around her looked tired and jaded. Houston and Chicago are involved in the Finals for a reason. They are the best teams in the WNBA this season, but it’s in those big matches that the stars have to shine, and Brittney had no problems letting her ability do the talking.
It was a stage to show precisely what separates her from other professional female basketball players. She wanted to put on a show in front of a global audience, and Griner certainly achieved that. She tied her personal best in the playoffs when shooting 29 points. She made history by recording the first-ever slam dunk in a WNBA Finals match.
On her A Game from the off, Griner scored each of the first 10 points registered by her team and was able to maintain that stunning pace. She was exciting in attack, scoring big basket after big basket, even when her teammates were missing vital shots, but her work in defense was just as important.
Griner produced an important block in the closing minutes of the game with the scoreboard tied at 86 points, and that was as crucial as any point she scored in the match. Encouraged by that monumental effort, and shaken to life by the near miss, Phoenix sprinted up the court and won the game thanks to a three-pointer from Diana Taurasi, moving the scores to 91-86 in Mercury’s favor.
She’s a player and woman constantly pushing the boundaries of what she is capable of and what can be achieved. Not only achieved by this great athlete, but Griner’s efforts also inspire women everywhere to take up basketball or sports and aim to be the best in the business. A decorated basketball player, an inspiration, and she uses her profile for good.
Admitting she was bullied during her younger years for being different, including her height and attraction to other females, Griner is now an active campaigner against bullying. She often visits schools and meets children, explaining the effects of bullying, especially against LGBTQ people, how to combat it and the reasons why it doesn’t define a person.
