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Atlanta Dream center and WNBA veteran Brittney Griner is embarking on her return to play against the Phoenix Mercury. Something that has her former Mercury teammates excited, including Kahleah Copper and DeWanna Bonner.
The Dream is taking on the Mercury in Phoenix on Wednesday. Before the game, Griner shared her thoughts on returning to play against her former team, as reported by Shane Young of Forbes.
Griner said that the city means a great deal to her and that she continues to receive support.
“The valley has always been behind me,” she said. “Always supported me. Whenever I wanted to do something, they were always there for me and my family. Still showing me love even after the fact. It wasn't any hard ill will or anything. That was the moment when I thought, ‘Yeah, okay.' I always knew, but that showed a lot.”
Brittney Griner is back in the building!
She spoke about returning to face the Mercury tonight, and what the city of Phoenix means to her pic.twitter.com/3vgTmXGqxk
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) July 24, 2025
In addition, Griner spoke about being traded from the Mercury to the Dream in January. She said it was a hard decision to leave Phoenix, but she was glad that each side got something out of it.
“The business part is always tough,” Griner said. “Tough conversations, especially when you've been somewhere so long where it just feels like family. It's hard to have those tough conversations, but it's all love. I'm happy for them. I'm happy for myself as well. So everything all worked out.”
Brittney Griner on how tough the business decision was to leave the Mercury after more than a decade. She says Phoenix is always her family, and she’s happy it’s working out for both sides pic.twitter.com/b2IoCo1T5P
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) July 24, 2025
Griner is averaging 10.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game this year. Meanwhile, the Dream are sitting at 13-10. As for the Mercury, they are 15-7 on the year and 4.5 games behind the first-place Minnesota Lynx in the Western Conference.
Brittney Griner's career in Phoenix
Griner left her mark with the Mercury. She played in Phoenix for 11 seasons and won the 2014 WNBA Championship.
In addition, Griner became a 10-time All-Star, two-time WNBA scoring champion, and an eight-time leader in blocks. Not only that, she won two WNBA Defensive Player of the Year awards.
She still holds franchise records in rebounds (2,322) and blocks (812).
