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Brittney Griner Sends Clear Message on Bolting Mercury for Dream

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Reign Amurao | Last updated May 16, 2025 9:50 PM ET

On Friday, Brittney Griner is set to debut for the Atlanta Dream as they face the Washington Mystics to start their 2025 WNBA season. It will be the first time for Griner to play for a different franchise after 11 years of being a member of the Phoenix Mercury.

During the offseason, Griner signed a one-year, $214,466 contract to play for Atlanta. However, her initial plan was to stay in Phoenix and hopefully finish her career with one franchise. Unfortunately for the All-Star, things did not go according to her plan.

This led her to focus on a different organization and continue her career.

ESPN's Ramona Shelburne had the chance to interview the longtime WNBA star and ask her decision to leave Phoenix. According to Griner, she wanted to have a similar career to her former teammate, Diana Taurasi. The recently retired star spent her entire career playing for the Mercury.

"I was doing everything as if I was going to still have that jersey on," Griner said. "Then, there was a meeting right before I left to go to Unrivaled and I found out like, 'Oh, it looks like they want to do something different. This is news to me.' I wish I would've known way sooner, but hey, life happens."

Some news in here: “Griner told ESPN that she wasn't looking to leave the Mercury after last season, and expected… to retire as a member of the team… But things changed when the Mercury informed her they were likely going in a different direction.“ https://t.co/3avJedXJtE
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) May 16, 2025

As she digested the news that the franchise was going a different direction, she thought of the Atlanta franchise. It was her first choice, according to Shelburne. Griner thought she'd be a great complementary piece next to All-Stars Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard.

With the Dream, Griner is looking forward to helping the team succeed. Last season, the team had a 15-25 record and lost to the first round of the playoffs against the eventual champions, the New York Liberty.

With a new Big 3, Atlanta could be a threat in the 2025 season.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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