Brittney Griner signing with Dream in WNBA free agency after 11 seasons with Mercury

One of the WNBA’s most recognizable names has a new home.Brittney Griner, a 10-time WNBA All-Star, will be joining the Atlanta Dream next season, she announced in a video on her social media. Griner had spent her entire 11-year career with the Phoenix Mercury since the team drafted her with the first overall pick in 2013. The announcement came in a teaser video she posted for a new series she’s doing called “Outside The Paint.” Griner was on a fishing boat with her new teammates. “Well I actually messed up on my intro, I need to introduce my new teammates because I will be joining the Atlanta Dream,” Griner said in the video. “So free agency has been everything I wanted it to be.I was able to find where I wanted to go.

And honestly what led me to that decision ultimately was the team, the players, as individuals, and then also my family.”The deal is a one-year deal, according to ESPN, and the contract cannot be made official until Saturday due to WNBA rules. Griner is coming off a season in which she put up 17.8 points per game along with 6.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists. She had also been a six-time All-WNBA selection, a two-time scoring champion and won the 2014 WNBA title during her time in Phoenix. “You know it was a hard decision,” Griner said, “you’re leaving what you know, what I’ve known for my whole career.But there’s also the exciting factor of like OK this is a rebrand now, I get to show them something different.”Griner became a household name after she was detained in Russia for nearly 10 months in 2022 before eventually being released in a high-profile prisoner swap for a Russian arms dealer....