Basketball On The Internet.

BOB'S CORNER: The world watched and waited until Russia released Brittney Griner from prison and our US correspondent Bob Craven has been following her journey since, a trip which has taken her all the way back to the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury. And Bob has a few more tidbits to share.

BRITTNEY Griner is headed back to the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury. 

Griner, who was a free agent, had said earlier after her release from prison in Russia, that she would return to Phoenix for the coming season. 

She reportedly has already signed a one-year contract, terms undisclosed for now. 

She last played for the Mercury in 2021, helping them to the WNBA Finals, averaging 20.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in that campaign.

The Mercury already had signed 40-year-old Diana Taurasi to a multi-year contract. 

She is the WNBA's all-time leading scorer and has only been a one-club player, playing with the Mercury since being the #1 draft pick in 2004.

LAST weekend we witnessed the NBA's All-Star weekend, and in events leading up to the revised All-Star game, Portland's Damian Lillard beat Indiana teammates Buddy Hield and Tyrese Halliburton in the final round of the 3-point shooting contest.

Little (188cm) Mac McClung of the Sixers might have single-handedly restored the shine to the slam dunk contest that has widely been panned in recent years.  The 24-year-old McClung is not even on the Sixers' main roster. 

He's on a two-way contract and has played almost exclusively in the G-League.  The Sixers are his third NBA team, and he has yet to play in a game with them.  He played in one game last year with the Chicago Bulls and in one other game with the Lakers. 

He has made three baskets in his NBA career but had four dunks Saturday night in winning.  A guy with more dunks than actual NBA field goals might have saved the dunk contest.

He scored a perfect 50 points on three of his four dunks.  He set the tone for the night with a dunk that had the NBA superstars in disbelief--he leapt over two people, took the ball out of the hands of one of them (you have to look at the video to visualize this), tapped it against the backboard and then threw down a reverse slam. 

He also threw down a 540-degree dunk - not a 360, a 540, doing one-and-a-half rotations in the air.  Shortly after landing that one, he declared out loud, "It's over"--and it was.  His opponent, Trey Murphy of the New Orleans Pelicans, never had a chance after those dunks.

KYRIE Irving's trade away from the Brooklyn Nets has opened things up for a guy pretty much buried on their bench and no, not Patty.

Cam Thomas, a rookie shooting guard came from nowhere and scored 40+ points in his previous two games for the Nets, including one game of 44 points coming off the bench.

Against the Phoenix Suns, he started for the second game in a row and had notched 30 points with about three and a half minutes left in the game. 

He proceeded to put on a burst, scoring 13 points from that point to the final horn, giving him 43 for the game.  The Nets still lost in a close game, but Thomas was historic.

He is now (at 21+ years of age) the youngest person in NBA history to score 40 or more points in three consecutive games.  What a find ... and what a future.

THE Seattle Storm have now officially signed Ezi Magbegor to a two-year contract, partially solidifying the Storm's front line after the recent defection of all-everything Breanna Stewart to the Sandy Brondello's NY Liberty. 

The Storm have signed several more players in the last couple of days, including Kia Nurse, an all-star PG who will replace the retired Sue Bird.  Nurse is also the captain and best player for the Canadian national team and won a WNBL championship with Canberra Capitals.

Steph Curry has gone down again, this time with knee injuries.  The Warriors say that he'll be back this season, but they've given no timetable on his return.

Anniversaries:
1987--The Sacramento Kings have the worst first quarter since the inception of the shot clock in 1954.  The Kings set a new NBA record by scoring only four points in the opening quarter of a blowout loss to the Lakers.
2017--San Antonio's Gregg Popovich becomes the winningest coach with a single franchise in NBA history, leading the Spurs to an easy win over the Denver Nuggets.  He earned his 1,128th victory to pass former Utah coach Jerry Sloan.

ON this day in 2005, little NCAA D-III Schreiner U. of Texas ended its women's NCAA record basketball losing streak at 83 games, beating Sul Ross State 75-61.  It was their first win since January 17, 2002, when they also beat Sul Ross.