Many of Brittney Griner’s USA Basketball teammates have been through this drill before, some of them multiple times. Suit up, play ball, win gold.
For the Mercury’s 6-9 center, however, this is her rookie season in red, white and blue. Griner, alongside Phoenix teammate Diana Taurasi and a slew of other WNBA All-Stars, is hoping to dominate on the international stage that is setting up in Rio de Janeiro.
USA Basketball’s official website caught up with Griner following Sunday’s practice to get a feel for her approach to her first-ever Olympics.
On the advice Diana Taurasi has given her:
Take it in. Take it all in. Don’t let it go by. It will go by quickly. It seems like it doesn’t go by quickly, but it will go by quickly. She said she wish she would have taken advantage of some of the small things like being in the village and really taking it in, and that’s what I plan on doing. Samsung hooked us up with some really cool gear, too. So I plan on capturing it all on my new little camera thing that I have. So I’m super excited.
Is it nice to have a teammate with you during this?
Yeah, for sure. It always makes it better when you have someone from your team that’s there with you. But I’ve been around all these ladies. We feel that camaraderie and that sisterhood, so I’m happy being around all of them.
On the Olympic sports she plans to watch:
I plan to make it around whenever I can. There is nothing in particular. But I plan to make it around and see gymnastics. That’s one of the top ones on my list.