WNBA superstar Brittney Griner reveals bold new look for 2025

WNBA star Brittney Griner appears set to debut a new look in the new year as she took to Instagram to announce her upcoming transformation. 

The Phoenix Mercury center has been forced to undergo many hair transformations in recent years following her incarceration in a Russian penal colony. 

The 34-year-old was imprisoned in Russia in 2022 after being arrested at a Moscow airport and sentenced to nine years in prison on drug-related charges. 

However, she was released in December 2022 in part of a prisoner swap between the United States and Vladimir Putin’s Russia. 

Yet, during her ten-month imprisonment, Griner was forced to endure horrific conditions, which even had effects on her hair. 

Back in 2022, Griner’s Russian attorney Maria Blagovolina revealed that the Olympic gold medalist was forced to cut off her signature dreadlocks after they froze in the brutally cold Russian winter. 

Griner was arrested at an airport in Moscow and handed a nine-year prison sentence 

However, just over two years on from her release, Griner has revealed that she is bringing the hairstyle back. 

Griner took to her Instagram stories to respond to a fan who asked if she was growing her hair back. 

‘I sure am! Curl BG was cool but Dread head BG is better,’ the six-time WNBA All-Star wrote alongside a photo of the top of her head. 

The image, which was taken by Griner from above her head, showed her hair in the pre-loc phase. 

Griner, who welcomed a baby boy with wife Cherelle in July, had been sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison after being caught with a cannabis oil cartridge while returning to Russia to resume playing for her European team, UMMC Ekaterinburg, in February 2022.

She was freed in a 1-for-1 swap with Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in December 2022 that has since been criticized for its failure to return Paul Whelan, a US Marine imprisoned on espionage charges in 2018. 

Amid the conditions in the Russian penal colony, which she stated left her feeling ‘less than human’ and even considering taking her own life, Griner was forced to shave off her dreadlocks after they froze and spiders built nests in her hair. 

In her memoir, ‘Coming Home,’ she revealed that she had to ask for permission to shave her head. 

The WNBA star was forced to shave off her dreadlocks in prison after they froze  

The basketball superstar endured horrific conditions in the Russian prison for 10 months 

Since her release in a prisoner swap, Griner has been wearing her natural curls in a short style 

‘My dreads had become knotted over the months. At IK-2, they froze together. My iced locs started molding beneath that wrap,’ Griner wrote. ‘They took three days to dry after I showered. During exercise on frigid mornings, I could literally feel a head cold coming on.’ 

Since her return to the US, Griner has opted to rock her natural curls in a short style but she is now brining back her classic dreadlocks for 2025 – and the looming new WNBA season. 

She averaged 17.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in the 2024 season, as well as claiming her third gold medal with Team USA at the Paris Olympics. 

Before the Phoenix kickstart its new campaign in May, Griner is slated to compete in the 3×3 ‘Unrivaled’ league during the offseason, which has provided WNBA players with the opportunity to remain in the US instead of seeking playing opportunities overseas in Europe.