Mercury’s Brittney Griner named Western Conference Player of the Week
Aug 23, 2021, 12:44 PM
COLLEGE PARK, GA AUGUST 21: Phoenix center Brittney Griner (42) drives to the basket during the WNBA game between the Phoenix Mercury and the Atlanta Dream on August 21st, 2021 at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
After leading the Phoenix Mercury to a 4-0 record last week following the Olympic break, center Brittney Griner was named the WNBA’s Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday.
This marks the third time this season Griner has earned conference player of the week honors and makes it 11 times in her career, second in Mercury franchise history behind Diana Taurasi’s 20.
During the Mercury’s four-game winning streak last week, Griner averaged 20.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.5 blocks and shot 58% from the field. She recorded three double-doubles in the four games.
Griner’s standout performance of the week came on Thursday against the Washington Mystics. She dropped 30 points, adding 12 rebounds and five assists while shooting 65% from the field. It’s just the second time in franchise history a player had a stat line of 30-plus points, 12-plus rebounds and five-plus assists.
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The center also had five assists this past Saturday against the Atlanta Dream, marking the first time she had back-to-back games with five or more assists.
Griner currently ranks fourth in the WNBA in scoring per game (20.5), second in field goal percentage (57.6%), third in rebounding (9.8) and first in blocks (2.1) to be the only player in the league ranked inside the top-five of all four categories.
Next, the Mercury will take on the New York Liberty on Wednesday.
