- Slug: Sports–Griner Leaves Mercury. 1,000 words.
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By Brendon Pricco
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – The sun rises on a new era in Phoenix for the Mercury.
Tuesday’s excitement of the Mercury’s blockbuster trade to acquire five-time All-Star Alyssa Thomas from the Connecticut Sun was soured with the gut punch of a free agency decision from Brittney Griner.
Griner, a 10-time All-Star and a face of the Mercury franchise for the last decade, plans to sign with the Atlanta Dream, she announced in an Instagram post on Tuesday night and her agency, Wasserman Group, confirmed Wednesday with Cronkite News.
“I need to introduce my new teammates because I will be joining the Atlanta Dream,” Griner said in a video with Dream players Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard, and Jordin Canada. “I’m thrilled for this chapter.”
WNBA free agents can not officially sign contracts until Feb. 1.
“For now, the video BG (Brittney Griner) posted will serve for comments on this, but her time in Phoenix and with the Mercury organization will be addressed when she is formally introduced, if not before,” Calder Hynes of Wasserman Group told Cronkite News.
The Griner move is just one of the monumental offseason changes looming over the franchise. While the acquisition of Thomas and Griner’s decision sent shockwaves through the basketball community Tuesday, the world is still waiting on a potential retirement decision from Mercury legend Diana Taurasi.
Griner has spent her entire WNBA career with the Mercury since being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in 2013. She burst onto the scene as a rookie, averaging 12.6 points per game and earning All-Rookie honors and her first All-Star appearance. Her career continued to flourish in the Valley, leading the WNBA in scoring twice and propelling the Mercury to a WNBA championship in 2014.
While Griner is a high-level scorer, her defensive ability stands out the most. She’s a two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, seven-time All-Defensive honoree and ranks third all-time in career blocks.
Before joining the WNBA, Griner dominated at Baylor University. She averaged 22.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.1 blocks in 148 games. She became a four-time AP All-American, two-time AP Player of the Year, and an NCAA champion in 2012.
Last season, Phoenix finished the regular season 19-21 before losing in the first round of the WNBA playoffs to the Minnesota Lynx.
“Happy for you,” former teammate Natasha Cloud commented on Griner’s announcement post.
Community Impact
A game-changer for the Mercury on the court, Griner also impacted Phoenix locally. She was awarded a WNBA Cares Community Assist Award three times, including twice in 2023.
She earned the WNBA Cares Community Assist Award for June 2023 due to her work and contributions in supporting the safe return of wrongful detainees overseas and her efforts to help marginalized Phoenix communities.
In February 2022, Griner was arrested and detained at a Moscow airport on drug-related charges. Russian officials claimed vape cartridges with illegal cannabis oil were found in her luggage. The arrest came a week before Russia’s invasion launched against Ukraine.
In a July 2022 trial, Griner pled guilty while claiming the cannabis oil was packed accidentally. Her lawyers also stated she had a medical prescription for the drug. In August 2022, she was found guilty of smuggling drugs with criminal intent and sentenced to nine years in a penal colony.
Griner was detained in Russia until Dec. 8, 2022, when she was released in a prisoner exchange with the United States in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who had been serving a 25-year sentence in federal prison. In 2024, Griner released her book, co-authored with Michelle Buford, titled Coming Home that details her incarceration in Russia.
After rejoining the Mercury in February 2023, Griner partnered with Bring Our Families Home, an organization that works with families of Americans who are wrongfully detained or held hostage in another country to spread awareness about their cases.
Griner also teamed up with Phoenix Rescue Mission, a nonprofit whose mission statement is to “provide Christ-centered, life-transforming solutions to people facing hunger, homelessness, addiction, and trauma.”
“My commitment will continue to be helping those who are struggling and shining a light on wrongfully detained Americans who should be home with their families,” Griner said about the honor.
Additionally, Griner supported the Valley’s homeless community through BG’s Heart and Sole Shoe Drive, founded in 2016. The drive provides unhoused individuals in need with pairs of shoes.
Griner also won the award in 2017. She donated the $5,000 in award money to the local LGBT Youth Center one.n.ten., which was rebuilding at the time following an arson attack.
“I can’t believe someone would take away a safe space for kids by doing something so violent, but I hope this donation helps a little in their recovery,” Griner said.
Looking ahead
Griner joins a Dream team that went 15-25 last season and lost in the first round of the WNBA playoffs to the eventual champions, the New York Liberty. Atlanta was led by Howard’s 17.3 points per game and Gray’s 15.6 points per game.
The Dream also brought in new coach Karl Smesko, who spent the last 23 seasons as the Florida Gulf Coast coach. He leaves the college hoops scene holding the third-highest winning percentage by any active head coach in NCAA Division I women’s basketball, with a record of 611-110.
For the Mercury, Thomas immediately launches into being a key part of the team. She has finished top five in MVP voting in the last three seasons and is a six-time All-Defensive Team honoree and three-time All-WNBA.
The duo of Thomas and Kahleah Copper (21.1 points per game) is a talented one, but if Taurasi decides to retire the Mercury will return only one of their top four scorers from last season.
Griner’s intentions to sign with the Dream marks the end of an accomplished career in Phoenix, both on the court and in the community, while signaling a new era for the Mercury.
“It’s my first time going into free agency. … It was a hard decision because you’re leaving what you know, what I’ve known my whole career,” Griner said. “But also there’s an exciting factor of OK, this is like a rebrand now. I get to show them something different.”
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