Brittney Griner is an American professional basketball player. She is a three-time Olympic gold medalist with the US women’s national basketball team and a six-time WNBA All-Star. Brittney Griner played for the Phoenix Mercury for 11 seasons from 2013 – 2024. She was drafted by the Mercury in 2013 as the number one overall pick.
BG was released from a Russian penal colony in a prisoner exchange on December 8, 2022. She was exchanged for a Russian arms dealer. Brittney had been detained in Russia since February 2022, after being arrested for carrying vape cartridges containing oil. The U.S. government considered her case a wrongful detention and the White House called the legal proceedings a “sham”.
Griner did not immediately play basketball after her release from Russia’s prison. But when she did play basketball shortly after, it was not in a professional game. BG rejoined the Phoenix Mercury in February 2023 on a one-year deal and returned to the court in the WNBA for her first professional game in May 2023.
