Subscribe
Follow Us
The Phoenix Mercury have just lost Brittney Griner to WNBA free agency, as the former Baylor Bears star has agreed to a contract with the Atlanta Dream, as reported by Shams Charania of ESPN on Tuesday night.
“After 11 seasons in Phoenix, 10-time WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner has agreed to a deal with the Atlanta Dream, sources tell me and @alexaphilippou,” Charania shared on X (formerly Twitter). “Griner spent her entire career with Mercury and now heads to Atlanta in one of most stunning free agency moves in league history.”
Brittney Griner has not played for another team outside of Phoenix in the WNBA since she started her career in the league in 2013 when the Mercury took her first overall in that year's WNBA draft.
A future Basketball Hall of Famer, Griner is one of the most accomplished women's hoops players ever. Even at age 34, she can still be expected to significantly contribute to an Atlanta team that failed to make the WNBA playoffs in 2024. The Dream went just 15-25 that season and missed the boat to the playoffs for the first time in three years.
With the Dream, Griner will be teaming up with talented Atlanta guard Rhyne Howard, who led the team in the 2024 campaign with 17.3 points per game to go with 4.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest.
Atlanta was not the only team that showed interest in trading for Griner, who is a two-time WNBA scoring champion and led the league in blocks in eight different years.
As noted by Charania, the Las Vegas Aces “also looked at signing Griner, sources told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, in their long-standing effort to find another big to play alongside A'ja Wilson.” However, the Aces did not continue their pursuit of Griner after making a roster analysis amid the arrival of former Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd to the team.
Griner is currently competing in the inaugural season of the Unrivaled league for the Phantom Basketball Club.
In a total of 315 games played for the Mercury, Griner came away with averages of 17.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 1.9 assists while shooting 56.2 percent from the field. Griner was an WNBA All-Star in each of the prevous two seasons and was twice named the WNBA's Defensive Player of the Year.
