Defending champions Golden State Warriors kick-started their NBA 2022-23 regular season with a dominant win over LeBron James-led Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. During the ring ceremony of the Warriors, Steph Curry gave a shout out to WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was 'wrongfully' detained in Russia.
Warriors beat Lakers 123-109 at the Chase Center as last season's Finals MVP dropped 33 points to help his team secure the win in their opening fixture.
The Warriors were felicitated with their 2021-22 championship rings before the action began between the Dubs and the Lakers. Steph Curry took the stage to give shout out to Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner on her 32nd birthday.
Curry said, "We want to continue to use our platform and shout out a very special member of our basketball community, Brittney Griner's birthday is today, she's 32 years old. We want to continue to let her name be known and we pray that it's been 243 days that she has wrongfully incarcerated in Russia. We hope she comes back home soon and everyone's doing their part to get her home."
The two-time Olympic gold medalist and WNBA champion came to Russia to play club basketball in February and later was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport for bringing vape cartridges with cannabis oil in the country. The Russian court sentenced Griner for nine years in prison on August 4.