Former WNBA champion and two-time Defensive Player of the Year Brittney Griner shared her thoughts on Caitlin Clark’s transition to professional basketball. Griner, who only played 11 minutes in Friday's game between the Phoenix Mercury and the Indiana Fever due to an apparent leg injury, took an opportunity to empathize with Clark’s rising stardom.
“I can only imagine what it's like for her,” Griner said, per Kyle Smedley of The Indianapolis Star. “… She probably can't even go to the grocery store and get her own groceries. I've experienced that before, and it's a lot.”
Clark and Griner had only met once before Friday's game, during a brief interaction before their June 30 matchup against the Mercury. Clark, who has been a fan of Griner's since she was young, deeply appreciated Griner's comments.
“As long as I've watched this league, she has been a staple of this league,” Clark said. “For her to say that is not something you take lightly.”
In the game against the Mercury, Clark notched her fifth-straight double-double with 20 points and 13 assists, leading the Fever to a 95-86 victory. Griner, who recorded four points before her injury, reflected on her own experiences with fame and the pressures that come with it.
Brittney Griner's own struggles with notoriety
Griner’s empathy towards Clark stems from her own tumultuous past. After being released from a Russian penal colony in December 2022, where she was detained for carrying vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, Griner has been adjusting to life back in the WNBA. She often recounts her time in prison, where she felt like a spectacle due to her height and fame.
“The guards would literally come open up the little peep hole, look in, and then I would hear them laughing, walking down the hallway,” Griner shared in a previous interview with NPR’s Terry Gross. Her time in Russia was filled with hardships, including dealing with expired toothpaste and watching Russian propaganda on television.
In addition to her prison ordeal, Griner faced an incident in 2023 after her return to the WNBA. A YouTube personality, described by the WNBA as a “provocateur,” tried to push through Mercury security personnel to get to Griner at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. The incident occurred while the team was traveling to Indiana for a game. Despite the security guard's efforts to protect Griner, the provocateur managed to create a scene, making inappropriate comments and pushing the guard.
Despite the challenges, Griner’s return to the WNBA offers a unique perspective on the challenges of navigating fame and maintaining performance under intense public scrutiny.
“I credit my team and believing in me, and they did everything that they could to help me get back on that court,” Griner said. “I was glad I did do it. … I definitely feel 100% like my old self now.”
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