Matthew Casey/KJZZ

Brittney Griner speaks at a press conference on April 27, 2023.

Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner held her first news conference on Thursday at the Footprint Center since she was released from a Russian penal colony.

Griner now plans to leverage basketball stardom to amplify the stories of U.S. citizens being wrongfully held around the world.

Griner led a countdown and pulled a rope unveiling a 30-foot mural painted on the west side of the arena, which features her face and those of detained Americans.

Matthew Casey/KJZZ

Brittney Griner stands with her wife, Cherelle, in front of 30-foot mural painted on the west side of Footprint Arena. Gov. Katie Hobbs was also at the unveiling.

Among the many questions Griner had just answered was if she came home feeling guilty about others still imprisoned.  

“It’s hard. It’s hard. I come from [a] military family. My dad, Vietnam ‘68, ‘69 Marine. So I have that mindset [of] no man left behind. No man, no woman, no one left behind,” said Griner.

The Mercury start the WNBA season next month.

Griner said she’s betting on herself  to return to form as a professional basketball star after spending almost a year detained in Russia.

Also coming back to play for the Mercury is the ageless Diana Taurasi. Griner said she is grateful that Taurasi did not retire.

“You know, she’s a mentor. I look up to her. How could you not when you have the GOAT, you know, right next to you," said Griner.

ESPN has called Taurasi the greatest WNBA player of all time.

Griner has twice been the league’s top scorer.