sport news Brittney Griner's return to the WNBA is selected for season-opening TV coverage ... trends now

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Brittney Griner's return to professional basketball has been chosen by ESPN as its season-opening TV coverage of the WNBA, as the Phoenix Mercury star is set to play again after being detained in a Russian penal colony for 10 months. 

The network's coverage of the matchup between the Mercury and L.A. Sparks will be the first of 25 regular-season broadcasts shown on the channel from May 19. ABC and ESPN2 are also expected to broadcast a few WNBA games this season.

Playoff games and the WNBA All-Star Game will also be shown on the network, with the latter making its ABC primetime debut on July 15 in Las Vegas (8.30 p.m. E.T.). 

Griner, 32, is expected to start at center for the Mercury against the Sparks after having missed all of of last season following her detainment in Russia before her release in a high-profile prison swap for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The Houston, Texas, native previously played professional basketball in Russia and was arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport in February 2022 after Russian authorities claimed she was carrying vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.