One of the WNBA’s most recognizable names has a new home.
Brittney Griner, a 10-time WNBA All-Star, will be joining the Atlanta Dream next season, she announced in a video on her social media.
Griner had spent her entire 11-year career with the Phoenix Mercury since the team drafted her with the first overall pick in 2013.
The announcement came in a teaser video she posted for a new series she’s doing called “Outside The Paint.”
Griner was on a fishing boat with her new teammates.
“Well I actually messed up on my intro, I need to introduce my new teammates because I will be joining the Atlanta Dream,” Griner said in the video.
“So free agency has been everything I wanted it to be. 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.”
The deal is a one-year deal, according to ESPN, and the contract cannot be made official until Saturday due to WNBA rules.
Griner is coming off a season in which she put up 17.8 points per game along with 6.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
Dream in a video posted to Instagram. Brittney Griner/Instagram
She had also been a six-time All-WNBA selection, a two-time scoring champion and won the 2014 WNBA title during her time in Phoenix.
“You know it was a hard decision,” Griner said, “you’re leaving what you know, what I’ve known for my whole career. But there’s also the exciting factor of like OK this is a rebrand now, I get to show them something different.”
Griner became a household name after she was detained in Russia for nearly 10 months in 2022 before eventually being released in a high-profile prisoner swap for a Russian arms dealer.
