Brittney Griner plans to sign with Atlanta Dream, ending 11-year run with Phoenix

Brittney Griner plans to sign with the Atlanta Dream, marking the end of her 11-year career with the Phoenix Mercury.

Griner announced the move in a video posted to Instagram on Tuesday night, and her agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, confirmed to The Associated Press that the star centre would sign a one-year deal with Atlanta.

"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 video. "Honestly, what led me to that decision ultimately was the team, the players. Also my family. I'm thrilled for this chapter."

WNBA free agents can't sign contracts until Feb. 1.

The 6-foot-9 Griner had spent her entire career with Phoenix since getting drafted No. 1 in 2013. Now 34, she decided this offseason to test free agency for the first time. Griner is signing for only one year because a new collective bargaining agreement featuring potentially massive salary increases is expected to take effect in 2026.

Griner missed the 2022 season when she was detained for nearly 10 months in Russia after authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges containing oil derived from cannabis. She was freed in a prisoner swap when the United States released notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Griner averaged 17.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks this past season with Phoenix. She's third on the WNBA's career blocks list, 65 behind leader Margo Dydek.

Griner said going through free agency posed some challenges.

"It was a hard decision since you're leaving what you know. What I've known for my whole career," she said. "There's an exciting factor of like, OK, this is a rebrand now. I get to show them something different."

Griner becomes the most prominent free-agent signing in Atlanta's history, and she joins a talented squad led by Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray. The Dream made a coaching change this offseason, bringing in Karl Smesko from Florida Gulf Coast. Griner, Howard and Gray are playing in the new 3-on-3 league Unrivaled this offseason.

The Dream went 15-25 last season and made the playoffs for the second straight year. They were eliminated in the first round by eventual WNBA champion New York.

Griner, a 10-time All-Star, also had discussions with Dallas and Las Vegas.

It has been an offseason of change for Phoenix. Earlier Tuesday, the Mercury were finalizing a deal to acquire Alyssa Thomas from the Connecticut Sun, a person familiar with that trade told the AP. It's also not clear whether veteran Diana Taurasi will play again or retire.

Mercury trading for Alyssa Thomas: report

The Phoenix Mercury are acquiring five-time all-star forward Alyssa Thomas in a trade with the Connecticut Sun, ESPN reported Tuesday.

The six-time All-Defensive Team selection has played all 11 of her seasons in the WNBA with the Sun, reaching the Finals in 2019 and 2022.

Thomas, 32, owns career averages of 12.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.5 steals in 320 games (310 starts) since making her debut with Connecticut in 2014.

Still in her prime, Thomas finished in the top five in most valuable player voting in each of the past three seasons and made the All-WNBA first team in both 2023 and 2024. She won a gold medal with the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Thomas was an unrestricted free agent, but the Sun tagged her with a core designation, meaning a trade was her only way to leave. ESPN reported that the transaction with the Mercury is a sign-and-trade, so the move cannot become official until Feb. 1.