Brittney Griner entered the offseason because the second-longest tenured participant with one crew within the WNBA, having spent her whole profession with the Phoenix Mercury since being drafted in 2013.
Now, for the primary time, Griner might be donning a special WNBA jersey. The 34-year-old heart is signing with the Atlanta Dream for the 2025 season, she introduced on Instagram on Tuesday. The deal is for one 12 months, in line with a league supply.
Griner brings a veteran presence to a promising younger core in Atlanta, with two-time All-Stars Rhyne Howard and Allisha Grey on the wings and two-time All-Protection level guard Jordin Canada within the backcourt. After being swept within the first spherical of the playoffs every of the final two seasons, the Dream are hoping to take a step ahead. They introduced in FGCU head coach Karl Smesko to modernize what was the worst offense within the WNBA in 2024 and now have a two-time scoring champion in Griner as their put up presence.
Griner hinted at a potential exit from Phoenix when she stated she can be taking conferences with different groups for the primary time in free company, and her departure appeared all however sure when the Mercury acquired Alyssa Thomas in a commerce. Though Thomas and Griner have been Olympic teammates, their full-time frontcourt partnership was tenuous given their spacing challenges.
Then once more, Smesko thrived on the NCAA degree by prioritizing layups and 3-pointers, and Griner has more and more seen extra of her shot distribution stray away from these zones. She tried 62.1 % of her area objectives in between the restricted space and the 3-point line in 2024, a shot food regimen that can presumably must evolve in Atlanta.
Griner’s selection of the Dream comes as one thing of a shock since she is leaving a corporation with a top-flight observe facility for one which doesn’t have its personal house. Atlanta additionally performs in an enviornment that seats 3,500 individuals. The expectation coming into free company was that gamers would prioritize facilities of their decision-making, however Griner centered on the roster as an alternative.
The Dream nonetheless have fourth-year energy ahead Naz Hillmon below contract, with veteran facilities Tina Charles and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus up for brand new offers. Parker-Tyus didn’t appear to take pleasure in a bench function in Atlanta final season, and that’s all that may be out there with Griner’s addition. Griner and Charles have been presupposed to be teammates in Phoenix again in 2022 earlier than Griner was wrongfully detained in Russia; Charles left the Mercury earlier than Griner’s launch, however maybe the 2 may reunite now.
Even after signing Griner, the Dream have vital cap room to chase one other max-level free agent. They might additionally commerce their 2026 or 2027 first-rounder together with a younger participant to improve by way of commerce. Satou Sabally would make excellent sense with this core if she is keen to log off on going to Atlanta.
Griner filmed her announcement surrounded by Grey, Howard and Canada, all of whom are additionally taking part in in Unmatched this offseason. It’s the primary instance, however doubtless not the final, of Miami being a helpful WNBA free-agency hub.
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As she strikes on to the Dream, Griner stated she was excited for a “rebrand” and to indicate “one thing completely different” within the twelfth 12 months of her profession. Maybe her transfer will presage one other change in Phoenix for the longest-tenured WNBA participant, as all eyes flip to Diana Taurasi and her potential retirement. For now, the Mercury have parted methods with at the very least one franchise icon, however the offseason is younger.
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(Photograph: Steph Chambers / Getty Photographs)