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One of the bigger dominos (literally) has fallen; Brittney Griner is on the move. As first reported by ESPN’s Alexa Philippou and Shams Charania, Griner is heading to the Atlanta Dream on a one-year deal, slotting into the five for new head coach Karl Smesko. She’s currently participating in Unrivaled, the new women’s basketball league, down in Miami, which has been a hub for free agency chatter. Though three of her new Dream teammates are also playing—Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, and Jordin Canada (all of whom are celebrating the move on socials right now)—Griner is not teamed up with any of them.
Griner has been with just the Phoenix Mercury for her entire career. She won one championship with the team, having gotten very close to several more during her peak years alongside Diana Taurasi. However, Griner is 34 years old and is sort of aging out of what common bigs in the WNBA look like as of late: quick, athletic, and three level scorers with consistency.
This is the first time in her career that she tested free agency, having always signed with the Mercury prior to hitting the market in earnest. But, with Phoenix beginning to age behind her and Taurasi, and with there being a ton of uncertainty about Taurasi’s status for 2025, Griner might want to move on to try and win another championship before she also calls it quits.
If there’s been one thing to stand out in Griner’s time in Unrivaled, her speed has declined pretty significantly. It feels like she might be better suited off the bench on her next team, but she might feel that she has more to offer than just being a bench center. Griner is a decorated center in the league, having won multiple scoring and blocking titles, two Defensive Player of the Year awards, making six All-WNBA teams, seven All-Defensive teams, and 10 All-Star teams. Griner averaged 17.8 points per game in 2024 with the Mercury along with 6.6 rebounds per game, 2.3 assists per game, and 1.5 blocks per game. She absolutely still has some decent rim protection still left in her arsenal despite her potentially being out of her prime, and you cannot deny her post scoring as a huge plus over opposing centers that aren’t always suited to defend her. She will thrive in 2025 if she’s able to limit her minutes to increase her impact on the court.
