Brittney Griner is officially coming back to the WNBA.
The Phoenix Mercury announced today it re-signed the two-time defensive player of the year. According to Richard Cohen of Her Hoops Stats, the deal is for one-year at $165,000.
After Griner was wrongfully detained in Russian prison for 10 months, the organization expressed its elation to have the multi-time all-star back in the fold.
“It's a great day for all of us to announce that Brittney Griner has officially signed to play for the Mercury in 2023,” general manager Jim Pitman said in a statement. “We missed BG every day that she was gone and, while basketball was not our primary concern, her presence on the floor, in our locker room, around our organization, and within our community was greatly missed.
“We will continue to use the resources of our organization to support her, on and off the floor, and we are thrilled for her that she gets to return to basketball, which she loves so dearly. This is a special signing and today is a special day for all of us.”
The last time Griner played in a WNBA game was in Game 4 of the 2021 WNBA Finals. She was coming off one of her best seasons that year where she averaged 20.5 points, 1.9 blocks, 2.7 assists, and a career-high with 9.5 rebounds per game. Phoenix was preparing to go after another title the following season after it acquired Diamond DeShields and Tina Charles last January until Griner was arrested for carrying vape canisters with cannabis oil in them at a Russian airport.
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