The Phoenix Mercury told Brittney Griner she was "missed every day that she was gone" as her return to the team was officially confirmed on Tuesday.
Reports over the weekend revealed Griner was signing a one-year contract to rejoin the Mercury for the 2023 season, and that deal was announced in a team statement.
Griner spent the first nine seasons of her career in Phoenix but missed the entirety of the 2022 campaign after she was detained in Russia for 10 months.
The two-time Olympic gold medallist was arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport in February 2022 for bringing under a gram of cannabis oil into the country in vape cartridges.
Griner said she made an "honest mistake", with her lawyers arguing she was using the cannabis for medicinal purposes and was unaware of its illegal status in Russia.
She was subsequently jailed for nine years for drug possession and drug smuggling with criminal intent but was released in December in a prisoner exchange that saw convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout return to Russia.
Back in the United States, Griner quickly outlined her desire to return to the Mercury, and the team were delighted to do that deal.
"It's a great day for all of us to announce that Brittney Griner has officially signed to play for the Mercury in 2023," general manager Jim Pitman said.
"We missed BG every day that she was gone, and while basketball was not our primary concern, her presence on the floor, in our locker room, around our organisation and within our community was greatly missed.
"We will continue to use the resources of our organisation to support her, on and off the floor, and we are thrilled for her that she gets to return to basketball, which she loves so dearly.
"This is a special signing, and today is a special day for all of us."
Griner is a two-time WNBA scoring champion, averaging 17.7 points per game for her career.
Rockets' Porter arrested, charged with assault of his girlfriend
Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. was arrested Monday and charged with assault and strangulation of his girlfriend.
Porter and his girlfriend were staying at the Millennium Hotel in New York, and per a police report, she was upset he returned early in the morning and locked him out of the room.
Porter was able to gain access to the room with the help of hotel security, and he then assaulted her, according to the report.
At 6:45 a.m., police responded to a 911 call accusing Porter of assault and after an investigation, the police arrested the 23-year-old with the felony charges of assault and strangulation.
"Upon arrival officers were informed that a 26-year-old female sustained a laceration to the right side of her face and was complaining about pain to her neck," a police spokesperson said. "A preliminary investigation on scene determined that a known individual struck her multiple times upon her body and placed his hands around the neck."
The woman, former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick, was taken to the hospital for a medical evaluation.
The Rockets issued a statement following the arrest to ESPN.
"We are in the process of gathering information surrounding the matter involving Kevin Porter Jr.," the statement read. "We have no further comment at this time."
Porter was second on the Rockets in scoring last season with a career-high average of 19.2 points per game while averaging a team-best 5.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds.
He is entering his fifth season in the NBA and fourth in Houston after spending his 2019-20 rookie season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Selected 30th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2019 draft, Porter was traded to the Cavs and sat out the beginning of the 2020-21 season following an investigation of a single-car crash.
Cleveland ended up trading him to Houston in January 2021 after he incited an outburst in the locker room with team officials.
NBA fines Harden $100,000 for disparaging comments made about 76ers
James Harden didn't hold back in besmirching the Philadelphia 76ers, and now it's going to cost him.
The NBA fined Harden $100,000 on Tuesday for comments he made about his status with the 76ers.
While Harden famously called 76ers team president Daryl Morey "a liar," the league is punishing the 2017-18 NBA MVP for publicly saying he would not perform the services called for under his player contract unless he was traded. The league confirmed with Harden that he berated Morey because he believed the 76ers would not grant his trade request.
A $100,000 fine is the maximum the NBA can fine a player.
Harden picked up his $35.6million player option for the 2023-24 season in late June with the understanding that Morey would work out a trade, according to reports.
It was reported last week that the 76ers told Harden's agent, Mike Silverman, that Morey was unable to find a trade for the 10-time All-Star and the franchise wouldn't deal him unless it could find a trade that would help the team contend for a championship.
That prompted Harden to blast Morey at a promotional event in China.
"Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organisation that he’s a part of," Harden said in a video that went viral last week. "Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organisation that he’s a part of."
The 76ers were reportedly involved in trade talks with both the Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks, but nothing came about of those discussions.
Harden, who turns 34 on Saturday, was a solid complement to NBA MVP Joel Embiid this past season, averaging 21.0 points and a league-leading 10.7 assists to help the 76ers to the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.
Philadelphia was knocked out in the conference semifinals for a second straight year after losing to the rival Boston Celtics in seven games, and Harden's play in the postseason was inconsistent. He had a pair of 40-point performances but averaged just 15.1 points on 30.0 per cent shooting with 8.4 assists in his other nine playoff games.
For his career, Harden has averaged 24.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.5 steals in exactly 1,000 regular-season games.
Bahamas defeats Argentina 82-75 to win FIBA Americas Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament
The Bahamas has never sent its men’s basketball team to the Olympics. The island nation is now one step closer to changing that.
Eric Gordon scored 27 points, Buddy Hield added 17 and Bahamas stunned Argentina 82-75 to win one of the five Olympic pre-qualifying tournaments that were wrapping up around the world Sunday.
The win sends Bahamas into another Olympic qualifying tournament in July 2024, one that will bring with it a chance to qualify for next summer’s Paris Games.
Deandre Ayton had 10 points and 21 rebounds for Bahamas in the win over Argentina.
Argentina, who took home Olympic gold in 2004, will miss the games for the first time since 2000.
Other pre-qualifying tournament winners Sunday included Cameroon, Bahrain, Croatia and Poland.
Next summer, Bahamas, Cameroon, Bahrain, Croatia and Poland will join 19 other teams — based on World Cup finish — in the final qualifying round. Those 24 nations will be split into four tournaments of six teams; the four winners go to the Paris Olympics.
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