USA women's national team honors Brittney Griner in FIBA World Cup / News - Basketnews.com

No player from the US women's national team will wear the no. 15 jersey to honor Brittney Griner, who won 4 gold medals wearing the shirt. Instead, Brionna Jones chose to wear no. 16. In the first day of Women's World Cup, the USA beat Belgium 87-72.

Credit: FIBA; AFP - Scanpix Credit FIBA; AFP - Scanpix

After WNBA superstar Brittney Griner was arrested and sentenced to jail in Russia earlier this year, the USA women's national team decided to honor its former player in the FIBA Women's World Cup 2022.

Brittney Griner

Position:CAge:31Height:206 cmWeight:93 kgBirth place:Houston, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

The team does not feature a no. 15 jersey on the roster, even though it was accustomed for one of the players to wear it throughout history. Griner won 4 gold medals with the national team wearing no. 15 - two Olympic golds in 2016 and 2021, and two World Cup golds in 2014 and 2018.

"Usually for the USA we are four through 15 in numbers and 15 is Brittney’s number, so nobody is going to be wearing that number while we are here at the World Cup," Breanna Stewart told News Corp Australia.

"It's culture us always wearing the same numbers, so the fact that her number is going to stay hers is amazing," she continued. "We are going to try and win a gold for her and hoping that she is going to be returning home quickly and safely."

In the first game of the tournament, the USA beat Belgium 87-72 behind Stewart's 22-point effort. Instead of wearing no. 15, Brionna Jones chose the no. 16 shirt for the tournament.

WNBA's young superstar Sabrina Ionescu did not score a point in 15-and-a-half minutes, missing both of her shots. League's MVP A'Ja Wilson was registered for the match but did not appear on the court.

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