10-Time WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner Is Taking Her Talents to the Atlanta Dream

Griner took to social media to explain the move. “Free agency has been everything I wanted it to be, honestly. I was able to find where I wanted to go,” Griner said in the Instagram video. “Honestly, what led me to that decision ultimately was the team, the players. Also my family. I’m thrilled for this chapter.”

Griner has already shared a video where she is seen fishing with her new Atlanta teammates.

Brittney Griner went fishing with her new Atlanta Dream teammates 🥰 pic.twitter.com/NtLIP8emRH

— WNBA Got Game (@wnbagotgame) January 29, 2025

Shocking the Market

This is one of the biggest free-agent moves in league history as WNBA rumors suggested Griner could be on the move after playing her entire 11-year career with the Phoenix Mercury where she led the team to a 2014 championship.

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 leaves Phoenix as the Mercury’s all-time leader in rebounds (2,322) and blocked shots (812). Last season, she became the third player in WNBA history to reach 800 career blocks. Griner needs 66 more blocks to break Margo Dydek’s all-time record of 877 blocks.

Griner, 34, talked about the difficult decision to leave the only team she’s ever played WNBA games for.

“It was a hard decision … leaving 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 said. “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.”

Griner’s New Team and Outlook

We’ll see what impact the Griner move has on the betting odds for the Dream, who finished 15-25 and missed out on the last playoff spot last year to Griner’s Mercury.

Griner, a 10-time All-Star, has made consecutive All-Star teams in her two seasons since returning to the court following a lengthy detainment in Russia for carrying cartridges containing less than a gram of medically prescribed hash oil. Facing a 9-year prison sentence, Griner was eventually released in a prisoner exchange between Russia and the United States on December 8, 2022.

ESPN’s lead story is Brittney Griner switching teams in free agency. They’re trying to make her something she isn’t. She isn’t a sports star. I hate to say it, but she’s like a circus act. Come and see the tatted-up, angry lesbian who hates America. pic.twitter.com/puNKeGtUlj

— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) January 30, 2025

Brittney Griner’s stats last season were still solid as she averaged 17.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting a career-high .579 from the field. Griner’s scoring average would have led the Dream last season, and Atlanta needs a scoring boost after ranking last in the WNBA with 77.0 points per game.

The Dream have not won a playoff series since the 2016 season, so they’ll look to improve with Griner as people start to make their WNBA picks and predictions for this anticipated season with stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese returning for their second seasons.