“Combination of Size and Skill Never Seen..”: 77 Foot Banner Kept Brittney Griner on Her Toes to Meet the WNBA’s Expectations

Brittney Griner, throughout her WNBA career, has been one of the most elite presences in the paint. She has carved out a phenomenal career for herself. However, she began making a name for herself well before she stepped foot into professional basketball. As a player for Baylor University, Griner put the world on notice of her talents.

She burst onto the scene as a woman dunking sensation. However, she turned out to be much more than that. Griner played for Baylor for four seasons and established numerous records on the way. Furthermore, she guided her team to a 40-0 record in the 2012 NCAA season, capturing the national championship in the process.

Ever since she broke onto the scene, the Phoenix Mercury star has been in the spotlight. So it’s understandable that Griner has felt the weight of the tremendous expectations placed on her shoulders at times. However, a 77-feet banner of her hanging in Phoenix kept her on her feet and gave her the confidence to meet those lofty expectations.

Brittney Griner wrote in her memoir “In My Skin” that several people felt she had the potential to break new grounds when she set foot on campus as a Baylor freshman. “People said I had the potential to do things no female player had done before, that I had a combination of size and skill never seen in the women’s game,” she wrote.

Subsequently, she got drafted as the first overall pick in the 2013 WNBA draft. The Phoenix Mercury and the city of Phoenix celebrated as they bagged a generational talent. Furthermore, they were highlighting Griner across downtown Phoenix with the unveiling of a seventy-seven-foot banner featuring her dunking. In fact, that was a banner that reminded the player of the elephantine expectations placed on her.

The banner reminded Brittney Griner of the heavy expectations

Brittney Griner has come a long way and has evolved into the leader and player she was destined to be. The initial phases, though, were a touch nerve-racking for the player. But a banner featuring her across the street from the Phoenix Mercury’s arena kept her going.

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“A seventy-seven-foot banner of me was hanging on the side of Hotel Palomar in downtown Phoenix, just across the street from our arena, and every time I saw it, I was reminded of those giant expectations,” Griner wrote in her memoir.

Fair to say, she has built quite a basketball resume and has lived up to those lofty expectations. Griner won the WNBA championship in 2014 and is an eight-time WNBA All-Star. Furthermore, she has proven to be a defensive hound in the league, taking home the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award twice. The 31-year-old has also represented her country and had tremendous success there, winning the Olympic gold twice.

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It has been incredible to see how much Griner has achieved in the basketball world. What do you think of her story? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.