Mercury legend Brittney Griner to sign with Atlanta Dream

Brittney Griner has agreed to a one-year contract with the Atlanta Dream, ending her tenure with the Phoenix Mercury after 11 seasons, 10 All-Star selections, two Defensive Player of the Year awards and a championship, ESPN’s Shams Charania and Alexa Philippou reported on Tuesday.

Griner announced the move in an Instagram video with her new teammates Rhyne Howard, Jordin Canada and Allisha Gray.

 

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“It was a hard decision since you’re leaving what you know. What I’ve known for my whole career,” she said in the video. “There’s an exciting factor of like, OK, this is a rebrand now. I get to show them something different.”

The news surfaced hours after the Mercury reportedly finalized a blockbuster trade to bring five-time All-Star forward Alyssa Thomas to the Valley.

Point guard Natasha Cloud and forward Rebecca Allen were sent to the Connecticut Sun in the trade, so three of Phoenix’s starters from last season are heading to new teams. Franchise icon Diana Taurasi has not announced whether she will return for her age 43 season.

Griner, 34, is the Mercury franchise leader in rebounds (2,322), blocks (812) and shooting percentage (56.2%). She trails only Taurasi in points scored and minutes.

The Mercury took the 6-foot-9 center with the No. 1 overall pick out of Baylor in 2013, and she was an All-Star in each of her first three seasons. She and Taurasi quickly developed into one of the most dominant 1-2 punches in the league, winning the WNBA Finals in 2014 as Phoenix’s leading two scorers.

The Mercury star broke the WNBA’s record for blocks in a game with 11, which she set in 2014, and is third in league history with 812 rejections. She is 65 away from the all-time record.

Griner continued to perform as a near-perennial All-Star through the 2021 season, after which she traveled to Russia to play during the WNBA offseason.

She was arrested at a Moscow airport after authorities allegedly found cannabis oil in her luggage and spent nearly 10 months detained in a Russian prison (February to December 2022). She came home in a prisoner exchange involving arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Griner re-signed with the Mercury the following February and played 31 games, making the All-Star Game a season after her imprisonment. She won the WNBA Cares Community Assist Award after the season for her activism in raising awareness for American wrongful detainees overseas.

Last year, Griner played 30 games and averaged 17.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game on 57.9% shooting.

During the summer, Griner suited back up for Team USA at the Paris Olympics, winning her third Olympic gold medal alongside Mercury teammates Kahleah Copper and Taurasi.

The 34-year-old will team up in Atlanta with two-time All-Stars Howard and Gray, playing for new head coach Karl Smesko. The Dream went 15-25 last season and made the playoffs for the second straight year. They were eliminated in the first round by eventual WNBA champion New York. Griner also had discussions with Dallas and Las Vegas.

Griner is currently playing in the new 3-on-3 Unrivaled league along with dozens more WNBA standouts, an alternative to playing overseas during the offseason. Howard and Gray are also playing in the Unrivaled league this offseason.

WNBA free agent negotiations began last week, and players can sign their contracts on Saturday. Griner is signing for only one year as a new collective bargaining agreement featuring potentially massive salary increases is expected to take effect in 2026.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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