Tag: Brittney Griner

Brittney Griner joining the Atlanta Dream is actually perfect

Brittney Griner in Atlanta might seem odd, but it’s actually perfect.

Brittney Griner is signing with the Dream and people seem shocked.

The chatter on social media ranged from “I didn’t see this coming!” to “The Atlanta Dream!?” with various degrees of confusion.

You know who isn’t surprised? Anyone paying attention. Once she declared her intent to pursue free agency, Atlanta was a clear option for BG.

Dream general manager Dan Padover mentioned at the end of the 2024 season that Rhyne Howard is the franchise’s star, and the organization wants to build around her and the team. How do you support that mission? You address the areas needing help, like getting a true center.

If it wasn’t going to be free agent center Bri Jones or re-signing Tina Charles, Atlanta had to at least get on the phone with Griner. Her resume is immaculate. And while the current version of BG is not the BG of old, she’s still productive, and you can’t pass up that kind of help.

Here’s why Griner in Atlanta makes a lot of sense:

Brittney Griner’s size and production immediately elevates Atlanta’s profile

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta spent a lot of the last two seasons getting bullied in the post. That’s not to say it wasn’t successful in establishing a presence, but it wasn’t consistent.

There were a lot of games where somebody was cooking against the Dream, and it was painful to watch. Remember when A’ja Wilson went off for 53 points against Atlanta?  Twenty of Wilson’s 23 shots were from the field, and she only hit one 3-pointer. OUCH. Obviously, that’s A’ja Wilson. Nobody could have done a lot to stop that kind of greatness, but it was clear then Atlanta needed help.

In 2024, they called up WNBA great Tina Charles out of retirement. Charles was often the only bright spot on a roster riddled with injuries and struggling to keep up with other teams. However, one of Charles’ foremost advocates, former head coach Tanish Wright, is gone, and with the BG signing, Charles’ time in Atlanta is all but up.

What does BG bring that helps replace Charles’ contributions? An upgrade in size and comparable production. Here are the season averages for both players from last season:

Player Height Points  Rebounds Assists
Tina Charles 6’4″ 14.9 9.6 2.3
Brittney Griner 6’9″ 17.8 6.6 2.3

Again, this isn’t Prime Brittney Griner, but the Dream get her on a one-year deal that will allow them to potentially draft a big and have them sit behind her. That’s a win-win scenario.

Brittney Griner’s existing relationship with the Atlanta Dream

July 19, 2024; Phoenix, Ariz., U.S.; Team USA center Brittney Griner speaks to the press during WNBA All-Star Media Day at the Footprint Center.
July 19, 2024; Phoenix, Ariz., U.S.; Team USA center Brittney Griner speaks to the press during WNBA All-Star Media Day at the Footprint Center.

If you were wondering how BG would feel about playing in a new city with new teammates, she seems to be enjoying it all.

Griner’s history with her teammates likely helped make her decision much more manageable. She’s previously spent time with Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard during Team USA basketball activities, and she’s currently in Miami with them and another teammate, Jordin Canada, for Unrivaled’s inaugural season.

Look at this wholesome Instagram reel she dropped with her new teammates to announce her decision. She looks so happy, and so do they.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFZDzSpNiP4/?igsh=a2EycTByMzEwOXVk

Brittney Griner determines how her WNBA legacy ends

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

It’s unclear how much longer Griner will play, but if this is it for BG—if this is trending towards the end—what a ride it’s been, and she gets to do it on her terms.

Unfortunately, her time in Phoenix is likely done. Still, she now gets to determine the trajectory of her WNBA legacy, and that’s an underrated thing to have control over in today’s sports landscape.

Well done, BG. On to Atlanta.

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Brittney Griner reportedly joining the Dream is the WNBA free agency shock of the offseason

Wow.

One of the WNBA’s biggest stars will reportedly be headed to the Atlanta Dream.

Brittney Griner will reportedly be leaving the Phoenix Mercury after 11 seasons for a new opportunity with the Dream, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Griner’s free agency decision shakes up both the Mercury and Dream, as one team loses one of its best players and another gains an unexpected boost.

Griner joins a Dream team featuring league standouts like Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, Tina Charles and Jordin Canada.

As for the Mercury, the team reportedly traded for Alyssa Thomas on Wednesday. That should help soften the blow of losing Griner as a free agent.

Two of Griner’s future teammates sure sounded happy about her decision to join Atlanta.

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Is Brittney Griner the best comparison for Lauren Betts?

If Lauren Betts wants to make a Brittney Griner comparison more legitimate, there is one very big thing she can do.

When watching great athletes, it’s easy as fans to think of other great players they remind you of. With UCLA center Lauren Betts’ unique blend of size and skill, there are not many college basketball players or WNBA players that are great comparisons for Betts. However, Howard Megdal of The IX Sports called former Baylor center Brittney Griner as the “last player with a profile anything like Betts.” Megdal added that Griner wasn’t as “efficient or skilled an offensive player as Betts is at this point in her collegiate career.” That is awfully high praise, considering Griner was a two-time AP Player of the Year and was an NCAA champion in her time with the Bears.

In terms of efficiency, Betts holds up well against Griner, who was absolutely dominant at Baylor from 2009-2013 before heading to the WNBA, where she has been an All-WNBA player six times. Griner was elite from the very beginning of her college career, averaging 18.4 points per game as a freshman. She led the country with 6.4 blocks per game. Betts is set to have the best season in program history at blocking shots, but she’s still at just 2.8.

After her freshman season, Griner proceeded to average close to 23 points per game over the next three seasons, Betts is having a career-best season, scoring at 20 points per game.

The case could be made that Betts would have a higher scoring output if she was surrounded by less talent, but Griner did so while being able to win a national title, something Betts and the Bruins have yet to do.

If Lauren Betts really wants to make the Brittney Griner comparison work, she needs to go win a national championship at UCLA.

Monique Billing’s reaction to a Brittney Griner and Rickea Jackson fight reminded fans of an LSU-South Carolina meme

Monique Billings said NOPE.

After Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner and Los Angeles Sparks rookie sensation Rickea Jackson got into an on-court scuffle Tuesday, Mercury forward Monique Billings immediately tried to avoid the dust-up. Her hysterical reaction has WNBA fans cracking up.

Griner and Jackson nearly came to blows mid-game after Jackson took exception to contact that Griner created with an elbow after a free throw by Celeste Taylor. After the two exchanged words about the physicality, tempers flared, and they had to be separated very quickly.

Players and coaches from both teams had to step in to stop any further escalation. Billings, who initially attempted to help, decided it was probably best she didn’t. (See the still shot below and the five-second mark of the clip, where you’ll see Billings — No. 25 — run in from the right side of the video and then step away.)

Billings’ instant reaction to the melee had fans thinking of a similar response from a ref who chose the same during an LSU-South Carolina scuffle earlier this year. They also wholeheartedly related to not wanting to be in the middle of it.

Here’s what they said (Warning: NSFW language):

(Feature image courtesy of CBS)

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Brittney Griner and Rickea Jackson ignited a bench-clearing scuffle in the latest Mercury-Sparks matchup

Things got HEATED between Brittney Griner and Rickea Jackson. Here’s what happened.

Brittney Griner and Rickea Jackson got into a mid-game scuffle Tuesday and had to be separated by their teams.

Phoenix’s Celeste Taylor was shooting a free throw, and Griner and Jackson stood next to each other as players waited for the shot to be completed. It’s not uncommon for players of opposing teams to jockey for position in the off-chance someone misses a free throw, and a rebound can be grabbed.

But it seems Brittney might have gotten a little too physical with Rickea during the positioning — using an elbow to create some separation — and the rookie took exception to it. Words between the pair were quickly exchanged, and soon, the two approached each other, initiating more contact. In the blink of an eye, Griner was going after Jackson, and Jackson was seemingly squaring up with Griner.

Coaches and players from both teams quickly cleared the benches and separated the pair, and eventually, Griner and Jackson were ejected.

Later, Jackson would return to the court after her ejection, but things didn’t stop there. Both Rickea and Brittney sparred on Instagram with fans who had thoughts about the squabble.

Here are some of the comments we’ve found (Warning: very NSFW language):

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Hoops fans were so moved by Brittney Griner’s tears after Team USA won gold

Brittney Griner deserves every bit of this glorious moment.

Team USA women’s basketball’s chaotic ending to winning another gold medal had so many iconic notes. You had incredibly clutch fourth-quarter heroics from Kahleah Copper. There was, of course, an unfortunate stroke of luck for France’s Gabby Williams, punctuated by ball-knowing confidence from Breanna Stewart.

But the best moment of all might have come from Brittney Griner during the medal ceremony. The Phoenix Mercury center was seen crying during the American national anthem, moved to heartwarming emotions after she received her gold medal.

And if you know anything about what Griner has been through over the last couple of years, you couldn’t help but cry with her.

Roughly two years ago at this time, Griner was being erroneously held in a Russian prison over drug smuggling charges because of a medical marijuana prescription from the United States. She would later finally be released about 10 months later, but not after losing nearly a year of her life while also in the middle of her basketball playing career.

For such a heartbreaking story to follow at the time, it made it beyond rewarding to see Griner get emotional over winning another gold medal for her country.

Hoops fans felt so great for Griner as she cried after remembering everything she’s been through

Brittney Griner has important advice for Caitlin Clark on what to expect on the WNBA transition

Griner noted what’s different in the WNBA than college as Caitlin Clark prepares for her first season.

Brittney Griner has some advice for Caitlin Clark as the Indiana Fever superstar starts her first season in the WNBA: it may take some time to adjust.

Given what we saw out of Clark in her first preseason game with the Fever — which included that moment when she dropped fellow Dallas Wings rookie Jacy Sheldon — maybe we’d expect her to be a superstar right away.

But as Griner told People, the WNBA isn’t college hoops: “It’s different, when you come from college to the pros,” she told the magazine. “I went from top dog to my numbers going down a bit. You’re going up against grown women. This is how they feed their families. This is not just for the love of the [game]. This is their livelihood.”

Well said!

Best photos from Brittney Griner’s jersey retirement at Baylor

When Brittney Griner played at Baylor, her coach was Kim Mulkey, but the new head coach is the one who pushed for the retirement.

Legendary Baylor Bears women’s basketball player Brittney Griner has finally received the recognition she deserved from Baylor. Her jersey was officially retired on Sunday at Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.

“Just full of emotion,” Griner told ESPN during the Bears’ game against Texas Tech. “As soon as (the jersey) started to go up, that’s when I started to break.”

When Griner played at Baylor, her coach was Kim Mulkey, who now coaches at LSU, but the new head coach at Baylor is the one who stood beside her at the jersey retirement and pushed for the retirement. Head coach Nicki Collen knew it was something that needed to be done for Griner and the entire Baylor community.

Griner had a strained relationship with Baylor since playing there and being drafted by the Mercury as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 WNBA draft. It was reported that Mulkey told Griner to keep her sexual identity private. However, head coach Collen made it a priority to fix the relationship between the school and Griner and has been an avid supporter of Griner since she took the job at Baylor three years ago.

“Knowing BG, knowing her, being around her, she’s a big kid,” Collen said about Griner in 2022. “To know her is to love her. I mean, honestly, she just is one of those people that radiates joy.”

See the best photos from the retirement ceremony:

Brittney Griner is proud to represent U.S. women’s national team

Griner was met with thunderous applause when she was announced as a starter for the national team in their exhibition against Tennessee.

Before she discovered basketball, WNBA player Brittney Griner thought she would be in the military or a police officer. After all, her father served in Vietnam as a Marine and later became a sheriff’s officer in Texas. She has always loved her country even while peacefully protesting injustices she observes and has experienced.

“My dad was law enforcement 30 years, military Vietnam ’68-69 Marine, so I mean, being able to represent my country means a lot,” Griner said last week. “Before ball, I actually wanted to actually go into the military, before I found basketball, so this is my way of still representing USA.”

So anytime she can represent her country, whether that be on the Olympic team or starting for the U.S. women’s national team exhibition game, she is all in for Team USA. On Sunday, Griner was met with thunderous applause when she was announced as a starter for the national team in their exhibition game against Tennessee.

“I actually talked to people that said they were coming specifically to see her and to watch her play,” Tennessee coach Kellie Harper said. “And they had become fans throughout her challenges in the last year or so, and I was really happy for that team to feel that from our fans.”

The national team’s next exhibition game will be at Duke on Nov. 12. This begins the preparations for the team’s 2024 Paris Olympics run. They are chasing their eighth straight Olympic gold medal.

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WNBA Sportsmanship and Community Assist awards announced

The league announced the recipients of the 2023 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award and the season-long WNBA Cares Community Assist Award.

With the conclusion of the WNBA season, the league announced the recipients of the 2023 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award and the season-long WNBA Cares Community Assist Award. Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner took home the Community Assist Award for her extensive work in championing the safe return of wrongful detainees overseas and helping marginalized communities in Phoenix.

“I’m grateful to receive this recognition from the WNBA but even more grateful to the X-factor fans, fans all around the league and our Phoenix Mercury organization for working together this year to make a difference through my Heart and Sole Shoe Drive and Bring Our Families Home,” said Griner. “I know the opportunity, privilege and responsibility I have to make a difference in the lives of others, and I’ll always remain committed to that.”

The WNBA will donate $20,000 to be split among charities of Griner’s choice, which include Bring Our Families Home and the Phoenix Rescue Mission.

The WNBA also recently announced that Chicago Sky center Elizabeth Williams has been named the recipient of the 2023 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award. The award is “presented each season to a player who exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court, including ethical behavior, fair play and integrity.”

“I’m extremely humbled to be named this year’s recipient of the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award,” said Williams. “Kim displayed the highest level of respect for the game with her competitive nature and willingness to impact her local community as well. Her spirit lives on, and I’m grateful to share this honor with past recipients like Sylvia Fowles, Nneka Ogwumike, Swin Cash, and many others. All of these women demonstrated high levels of resilience, leadership, and sportsmanship on and off the court. It is truly an honor.”

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