WNBA Superstar Brittney Griner signed a 1 year contract with the Atlanta Dream after playing her entire career with the Phoenix Mercury.
The 10-time WNBA All-Star and WNBA champion (2014) signed with the Atlanta Dream as a free agent after spending 11 years in Phoenix.
Griner, 34, will join former No. 1 pick Rhyne Howard and All-Star guard Allisha Gray on a Dream team that has a good chance to win the WNBA championship.
Griner is pictured with the Dream’s oldest player Tina Charles, 36, (left) and Allisha Gray (right) in College Park, Georgia on August 21, 2024.
“Free agency has been everything I wanted it to be,” Griner said earlier this week. “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.”
Griner continued, “I’m thrilled for this chapter, my first time going into free agency, and it was cool. It was a hard decision because you’re leaving what you know, what I’ve known for my whole career. But there’s also a deciding factor of, OK, this is like a rebrand now. I get to show them something different.”
Griner is pictured with longtime Mercury teammate and WNBA superstar Diana Taurasi (left) during a game against the Connecticut Sun on July 5, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Griner is a 2× WNBA scoring champion, 8× WNBA blocks leader, and 2× WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. In addition to playing her entire career in Phoenix, Griner also played off-season in Russia and China.
In another blockbuster signing, the Dream acquired WNBA forward Brionna Jones, who played her entire career with the Connecticut Sun.
Jones is a three-time WNBA All-Star who won the Most Improved Player award in 2021.
Griner made headline news on February 17, 2022 when she was arrested in Russia for attempting to smuggle drugs through an airport. She was sentenced to 9 years hard labor and transferred to roughest toughest prison camp for women.
In December 2022 President Joe Biden made a controversial prisoner swap to bring her home.
The WNBA legend is seen greeting former Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade on the red carpet at The 2023 Met Gala in New York City.
Griner is currently hooping with the Phantom Ball Club in the first season of the Unrivaled 3-on-3 women’s basketball league.
The 6-foot-9 center said she decided to play for Phantom BC to “show off my skills for free agency.”
Griner met with other WNBA teams before settling on the Dream. The father-of-3 was the Mercury’s No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 draft out of Baylor University.
