The line-up still wasn’t announced ten minutes before the game. Everyone in Talking Stick Resort Arena was wondering if this could be the game, the game Diana Taurasi is back and in the starting line-up. Right before the start of the game, it was announced that Diana Taurasi would be starting in her first home game of the season and the crowd went crazy with excitement.
DT decided to wear the LeBron 16 ‘Watch The Throne’ kicks for her debut. “Good ole LeBrons. Send ‘em roses before they die. Someone could have sent me roses today. No one did,” Taurasi joked about the shoes. Taurasi did mention she hasn’t worn her favorite pair yet. She previewed they are all black LeBrons and they are going to be worn later this season.
The game’s theme was breast cancer awareness and honored breast cancer survivors. As you can imagine, there was a lot of pink around and several pink shoes. Briann January had on the Kobe 5 Kay Yow ‘Think Pink’ shoes which were one of my favorite pairs of the game. Several other players had on pink shoes including Brittney Griner with the Kyrie 5 Patrick’s.
Brittney Griner has been wearing the Kyrie 5 Spongebob pack since she got them during the WNBA All-Star weekend. She had been wearing the Patrick ones quite a bit so I asked her if Patrick was her favorite. “Spongebob and Patrick. I mean Spongebob and Patrick were my favorite combo but last time I did that I got suspended three games so I feel like I am not going to do that combo anymore. I am just going to wear straight Spongebob and straight Patrick. Those are my two favorites,” Griner explained. She added she hopes they put out some Jimmy Neutron or Rugrats. “Come on Kyrie,” Griner shouted as she listed more cartoons she would like to see on a pair of kicks.
Shoes were at the forefront after the game as well. Game day worn items were auctioned off to raise money for the fight against breast cancer. Brittney Griner’s game worn jersey and shoes, yes the Kyrie 5 Patrick’s, were sold for a whopping $10,000. Another hot item auctioned off were a custom Breast Cancer Awareness pair of AF 1’s. The shoes were designed by Color Lab Creations and raised several thousand dollars. Overall, the Phoenix Mercury raised a total of $54,000 for the American Cancer Society.
While the Mercury didn’t win against the Chicago Sky, they still raised money and awareness for a great cause. The game was a great celebration for survivors and reminding all the fans there is still a fight to find the cure.
