Throughout her 11-year WNBA career, Brittney Griner has remained a steadfast member of the Phoenix Mercury. However, on Tuesday night, she made a surprising decision to explore new horizons across the country. Griner, who gained significant attention for her unfortunate ten-month detainment in a Russian prison in 2022, has consistently proven to be a productive player in the WNBA when healthy. Notably, she has been selected to the WNBA All-Star Game ten times during her tenure with the Mercury, underscoring her remarkable longevity in the league.
At 34 years old, Griner shows no signs of slowing down. She will continue her impressive performance as a member of the Atlanta Dream, having signed a one-year deal that she announced in a video on her Instagram page. In the video, she expressed, “So, free agency has been everything I wanted it to be. I was able to find where I wanted to go. And honestly, what led me to that decision ultimately was the team, the players, as individuals, and then also my family.”
While Griner admitted that the decision was challenging, she is looking forward to a “rebrand” in her career in a different city. “You know it was a hard decision,” she stated, “you’re leaving what you know, what I’ve known for my whole career. But there’s also the exciting factor of like, OK, this is a rebrand now, I get to show them something different.” Naturally, this significant move sparked a flurry of reactions on social media from WNBA fans, many of whom were taken aback to see her in a new city after spending so long in Phoenix.
“One of the most stunning free agency moves in league history,” wrote ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania on X. “I did not have Brittney Griner going to the Atlanta Dream on my bingo card,” added WNBA sports betting writer Sara Jane Gamelli on X.
