WNBA star Brittney Griner was officially released from a Russian prison on Thursday, making her return to the United States.
After nearly 10 months of being detained, Griner was freed in a prisoner swap involving arms dealer Viktor Bout, news which was confirmed by President Joe Biden, adding he spoke with Griner as she made her way home.
MORE: A'ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Chris Paul & others celebrate release of Brittney Griner
The news sparked widespread reaction across the sports world. That included Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who weighed in on the matter during The Shop‘s Thursday Night Football broadcast between the LA Rams and Las Vegas Raiders.
“I think it's a great day for us as Americans having BG back,” LeBron said of Griner's release.
“In the sports world, just having her presence back. Her wife misses her. Her family misses her. Her club misses her here in Phoenix. To have her a part of the basketball brother and sisterhood once again, it’s a big day for us and what we do.
"Kudos to the President. Kudos [to] Kamala Harris and everyone who had something to do with it."
"I think it's a great day... To have her a part of the basketball brother and sisterhood once again, it's a big day for us."@KingJames on Brittney Griner's release from prison today
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) December 9, 2022
(via @NFLonPrime)pic.twitter.com/HJcsAYgoaX
While Griner's release has been celebrated across the NBA and WNBA, LeBron also touched on others that have been wrongfully detained, in reference to ex-United States Marine Paul Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since December 2018 on suspicion of spying.
“Like Mav [Carter] said, there’s a lot of people that’s wrongfully detained right now," he said. "We hope we can get them all back.”
MORE: The complete Brittney Griner detainment timeline
President Biden addressed the country in a press conference today, alongside Vice President Harris and Griner's wife, Cherelle, confirming Grine is safely on her way back to the United States.
BREAKING: Pres. Biden: "I spoke with Brittney Griner. She's safe. She's on a plane. She's on her way home...Brittney will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones — and she should have been there all along." https://t.co/MNTPJl3YT4 pic.twitter.com/3NszvTfnyX
— ABC News (@ABC) December 8, 2022
"After months of being unjustly detained in Russia, held under intolerable circumstances, Brittney will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones and she should have been there all along."