(Photo credit: Shutterstock.com – Keeton Gale
Brittney Griner is officially coming back to the WNBA.
According to ESPN, Griner signed a one-year deal with the Phoenix Mercury, returning to the team that drafted her in 2013. The last time Griner played was in 2021 when they lost to the Chicago Sky in the WNBA Finals.
On Dec. 8, 2022, Griner was released after 10 months of incarceration in a Russian prison. She was sentenced to nine years in that same Russian prison for drug possession.
Griner was released in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout. Bout was sentenced to 25 years in a U.S. federal prison after being convicted in November 2012.
Since Griner has been home, many wondered whether or not the basketball star will play for the Mercury this season, and people got their answer on Dec. 16, 2022, in her first statement since being back in the United States.
“I intend to play basketball for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury this season, and in doing so, I look forward to being able to say ‘thank you’ to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for me in person soon,” Griner wrote.
The Mercury will start the season against the Los Angeles Sparks on May 19.
