The Latest Breaking News from Basketball

The United Arab Emirates president and Saudi crown prince led mediation efforts that secured the release of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner in a prisoner swap with Russia, a joint UAE-Saudi statement said on Thursday.

The high-level prisoner swap, at a time of heightened tensions over Ukraine, was announced by US President Joe Biden on Thursday

The Texas basketball star was first detained in February and was recently moved to a Russian penal colony before her release Thursday.

Basketball star freed in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout – follow the latest news

U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner has been released in a prisoner swap with Russia in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout and was heading home on Thursday, ending what President Joe Biden called months of "hell" for her and her wife.

Brittney Griner has been freed from a Russia prison in a high-level prisoner exchange

A U.S. official said on Thursday that U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, who had been jailed in Russia in charges of possessing and smuggling illegal drugs, was now in U.S. custody.

Moscow says Griner was traded for Viktor Bout, a Russian former arms dealer convicted and jailed in the United States.

Russia freed WNBA star Brittney Griner on Thursday in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange, with the U.S. releasing notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, American officials said. The swap, at a time of heightened tensions over Ukraine, achieved a top goal for President Joe Biden, but carried a heavy price…