After missing the 2022 season because of her detainment in Russia, Griner is returning to the Phoenix Mercury on a one-year contract.
Brittney Griner is back on the court! The WNBA star has officially made her return with the Phoenix Mercury after being held for months in Russian prisons on drug charges, the team announced on Tuesday.
"It's a great day for all of us to announce that Brittney Griner has officially signed to play for the Mercury in 2023. We missed BG every day that she was gone and, while basketball was not our primary concern, her presence on the floor, in our locker room, around our organization, and within our community was greatly missed," Mercury General Manager Jim Pitman said in a statement. "We will continue to use the resources of our organization to support her, on and off the floor, and we are thrilled for her that she gets to return to basketball, which she loves so dearly. This is a special signing and today is a special day for all of us."
The star center was detained at a Russian airport in February 2022 and later pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the discovery of cannabis-derived oil cartridges in her luggage. Griner said she didn't mean to bring the cartridges with her when she traveled to the country to play in a Russian basketball league during the WNBA offseason.
The 32-year-old was released in December in a one-for-one prisoner swap for notorious international arms dealer Viktor Bout, bringing an end to an ordeal that sparked intense high-level negotiations between Washington and Moscow to secure her freedom.
Griner was a free agent but previously announced her intentions to return to the Mercury in December, when she made her first public statement since returning to the United States.
"I also want to make one thing very clear: 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," the athlete wrote on Instagram.
Griner spent nearly 300 days in Russia and last played for the Mercury in 2021, when she helped the team make it to the WNBA finals.
Her re-signing comes with a steep pay cut: according to Spotrac, Griner will earn $165,100 to play for the Mercury over the 2023 WNBA campaign, a 32 percent drop from last season and far less than the $234,936 supermax for which she was eligible. But Griner's pay cut reportedly allowed the Mercury to re-sign Diana Taurasi, the WNBA's all-time scoring champion and 10-time All-Star, as well as several other free agents to round out its roster.
Griner took to Instagram to celebrate her return. The star player shared a video to her page, showcasing several moments from her time with the Mercury before her detainment, including a brief clip flaunting her infamous dunks.
"So Good to be back with the Family," she captioned the clip.
Several famous fans and friends shared their congratulations for Griner in the replies, including Indiana Fever point guard Erica Wheeler, who wrote, "For sure I am jumping on your back when I see you! You know how it goes."
The Mercury also celebrated Griner's return with a post on Instagram, showing the player back in her uniform and on the court during practice. "There she is," the post's caption reads, which the star's wife, Cherelle Griner, responded to with a purple heart and kiss emoji.
Griner is set to make her WNBA return on May 19, as the Mercury take on the Los Angeles Sparks at Crypto.com Arena. On May 21, she'll suit up at Phoenix's Footprint Center for the first time in 19 months for her homecoming game against the Chicago Sky.
RELATED CONTENT:
