WNBA Player Leaves Phoenix to Play Basketball in Zhejiang, China


Photo © ESPN Magazine
ESPN recently made a short documentary on 23-year-old American basketball player Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury who decided to spend her first off-season playing for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls in China. The featurette trails Griner as she struggles with moving to the other side of the globe, leaving all her relationships behind and playing on team with significant language and culture barriers.

The documentary shows how she had trouble adjusting to the food, the traffic, her coach’s style… She struggles to relate to her teammates and maintain her connection to her loved ones back home. But gradually, as the season moves on, we see her bridging that gap and bonding with her newfound teammates and friends.

In a longer piece by ESPN, Griner admits, “Here in China, you just have to forget everything you know, or think you know, and be willing to accept a new set of rules.” To learn more about her China story, and how the Golden Bulls did in the playoffs, check out ESPN’s documentary online.