The band is getting back together. The Phoenix Mercury are reuniting with star basketball player Brittney Griner, after the two parties agreed to a new contract. Griner agreed to a one-year deal with the Mercury, per ESPN.
Griner has spent her entire WNBA career with the Mercury. She's put up a plethora of accolades since playing in the desert, including appearing in nine WNBA All-Star games. She won a league championship in 2014 with the team. Griner had been away from American basketball for an extended period of time due to her incarceration in Russia in 2022.
Griner's WNBA career
Griner has been one of the best players the WNBA has ever seen. She was the league's scoring champion twice in her American professional career, in 2017 and 2019. She also led the league in blocks 8 times in her tenure, in a stunning display of defensive prowess. Her defensive effort was rewarded by the league, as she was twice named the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.
In her career, Griner has also been an offensive power. She's got a career scoring average of 17.7 points per game, and a 7.5 rebounding average. Griner was the first overall pick in 2013. Her time in the league was cut short due to her arrest while in Russia. She was released from a Russian jail on Dec. 8, 2022, after spending nearly 300 days there, per ESPN.
The Mercury will look to bounce back with Griner, following a disappointing year in 2023. The team finished 9-31, and had one of the worst seasons in franchise history. Griner played in a significant role for the club, despite missing some time due to the jail sentence. She also missed the 2022 season.
The team has made several moves this offseason to improve the team. The Mercury grabbed Kahleah Copper, Rebecca Allen and Natasha Cloud. The franchise is clearly making efforts to win another championship with Griner, before her playing days run out. The veteran is 33-years-old and her window to win more championships is closing.
Griner has been active not only on the court, but off the court. She received the WNBA's Community Assist award, for her philanthropy work. This includes her efforts with a shoe drive, and working to help Americans being detained overseas, per the USA Today.
Fans hope this upcoming WNBA season is going to be one to remember. Iowa basketball's Caitlin Clark is almost definitely headed for the league, and with Griner's return, the conference will have several stars playing at the same time.
The WNBA season begins on May 14. The WNBA draft is on April 15. Clark is widely believed to be the overall no. 1 pick, which is in the hands of the Indiana Fever. The Mercury have the first pick in the second round of the draft, as well as a third-round pick.
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