Throughout her career, stadium announcers have repeatedly yelled Brittney Griner's name before WNBA All-Star games, Olympic finals, and WNBA finals.
Even though it was a preseason game, this time was unusual because it was her first competitive game after spending over 300 days in Russian captivity the year before.
On Friday, as Griner's name was called, the stadium erupted in jubilant applause, her Phoenix Mercury teammates joined in, and she rose up to chest-bump one of them.
Phoenix lost to the Los Angeles Sparks in a preseason game 90-71 despite Griner's 10 points and three rebounds during the actual contest. Although he started the game, the 32-year-old only played 17 minutes.
After the game, Griner told reporters, "I'm grateful to be here, that's for sure. "I'm not going to take today for granted."
The national anthem, she continued, "hit different" from the other pregame activities.