Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Brittney Griner To Sign With New WNBA Team

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Chris Phelps | Last updated Jan 28, 2025 9:10 PM ET

After 11 seasons with the Phoenix Mercury, center Brittney Griner is joining a new team.

With WNBA free agency kicking off earlier in January, many free agents have been negotiating with different teams across the league. According to ESPN's Shams Charania and Alexa Philippou, Griner has agreed to a one-year deal with the Atlanta Dream. The move won't be made official until Saturday, once the contract is finalized.

Phoenix now enters a new era of basketball with Griner leaving. The 6-foot-9 star out of Baylor helped bring the Mercury a championship while keeping them competitive for her 11 seasons.

Guard Diana Taurasi may be on her way out as well. She hasn't made an official announcement on her retirement, but with Griner leaving, it seems more likely Taurasi will as well.

After 11 seasons in Phoenix, 10-time WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner has agreed to a deal with the Atlanta Dream, sources tell me and @alexaphilippou. Griner spent her entire career with Mercury and now heads to Atlanta in one of most stunning free agency moves in league history. pic.twitter.com/NfdAuYOAVs
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 29, 2025

Griner was the No. 1 pick in the 2013 WNBA draft. In her 11 seasons in Phoenix, Griner averaged 17.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 30.4 minutes per game. She was named to 10 All-Star games, won two Defensive Player of the Year awards and was a two-time scoring champion.

Griner will join a Dream team that finished the regular season with a 15-25 record, just squeaking into the playoffs. Rhyne Howard and Alisha Gray proved to be one of the better backcourt duos in the WNBA. Tina Charles was the center for Atlanta, but she is a free agent this offseason as well.

If Griner can prove to be the elite center that she has been during her 11-year career, the Dream could find themselves in playoff contention once again. And possibly more.

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

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