It’s safe to say the BG of old is back. In her emotional homecoming against the Mercury, Griner lit up the PHX Arena with a vintage showing, racking up 17 points and 8 boards in front of a roaring crowd. She kept the momentum rolling against the powerhouse Minnesota Lynx, exploding for 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists as the Dream handed the Lynx their first home loss of the season.

The win was mostly due to their strong first-half showing, where they finished with a 14-point lead. Even Griner had a 17-point first half on 6-for-8 shooting. And surprisingly, that efficient display included a three-pointer from the top of the key. Griner put down a not-so-clean 26-footer when Jordin Canada drove into the paint while drawing defenders. In one of these rare instances, this left Griner open at the three-point line, about four feet past the arc.

Griner’s flat shot took a fortunate bounce off the rim before dropping in, and both commentators collectively expressed their surprised reaction by saying, “What?” at the same time. The reaction was not without reason, as Griner is the commander of the paint, but she is nowhere near a long-range shooter. For the first five seasons of her WNBA career, she did not attempt even a single shot from beyond the arc. This was her 20th three-pointer in her 12-year WNBA career. This sentiment of surprise and a hint of mockery was also seen among fans as they criticized the veteran for her long-range shooting.

Fans Roast Brittney Griner for Banking in “Ugliest Made 3-Pointer”

The WNBA is catching up to the NBA’s long-range shooting evolution, with teams gradually shifting their focus from playing inside the paint to taking more shots from the perimeter. This change is being fueled by the “Caitlin Clark effect,” much like how Steph Curry transformed the NBA’s approach to three-point shooting. Naturally, fans are expecting more outside play-by-play, and they have the likes of Clark, Sabrina Ionescu, and others as references. So when Griner put down a rusty three, the WNBA community was quick to pounce.

“Even the rim was surprised!” joked a fan. As Griner’s shot traveled to the basket, it bounced off the rim and went inside. This was also a reference to Griner’s inability to make threes. She has made 4 threes this entire season. Her best season with regards to threes came last year, when she made 9 threes at 50% efficiency. The fact is, she is almost always in the paint and is never needed to make those outside shots.

And she is so good at commanding around the rim that the teams themselves set up around her and surround her with elite outside shooters. Another fan continued the mockery while taking a shot at the Lynx’s poor performance, writing, “U know your team is taking an L when Brittney Griner of the opposing team is hitting 3s.” Ironically, the Lynx are one of the best when defending from beyond the arc, as they concede only 2.1 per game, which is the second-best in the league. This event further underscored how poor the Lynx were on the night, as they conceded 8 three-pointers in this game. That is one more than their season average, which would have included that unexpected Griner three-pointer.

Another fan wrote, “How did that go in? It almost got stuck between the back of the rim and the backboard.” There was an awkward bounce, which is rarely seen in made three-pointers, as the ball generally jumps out. So Griner was particularly lucky to get this one in, as there was a slight delay in the ball hitting the backboard and falling in.

Another fan had a theory about why we never see these kinds of shots in the NBA, writing, “Not even hyperbole to say that’s the ugliest shot I’ve ever seen go through the basket. Probably never happens with the larger NBA ball, right?” Well, that Tyrese Haliburton buzzer-beater against the Knicks, which bounced at least a foot after hitting the rim and then went in, comes to mind. It wasn’t exactly the same as this Griner shot, but it was ugly too. 

But the moment and the gravity of that shot overshadowed it at the time. That was initially perceived as a three, but it was actually a two-pointer, forcing OT. The WNBA ball is of size 6 as compared to size 7 in the NBA. While the rim diameter remains the same, there is a possibility that we won’t get to see such exact shots in the NBA. It doesn’t matter if it was ugly; all that matters is that it went in, and that applies here, too.

In any case, Griner won’t pay heed to any kind of mockery or trolling regarding her inability to make outside shots, because she herself knows this. After this shot was made, she did that Michael Jordan-style shrug while looking surprised. She doesn’t need that outside shot because of the ferocious inside play that is the backbone of how she plays. She’s steadily built a respectable three-point game over the past few seasons. And let’s be real, after everything she’s been through off the court, a few online trolls barely register on her radar. This performance against the Lynx will only fuel her way back to her regular form.