Dream home: Brittney Griner rediscovers joy, purpose in Atlanta

“I feel like I got a rebirth,” Griner told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I found my joy (for the game) again, and that was a big thing for me.”

Griner begins her first season in Atlanta after spending all 11 years of her prolific career with the Phoenix Mercury, collecting a WNBA championship in 2014 and a laundry list of accolades on her journey.

In February, she signed a fully guaranteed one-year contract worth $214,466 to join the Dream as one of franchise’s trio of marquee offseason acquisitions — with three-time All-Star Brionna Jones and veteran guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough — under first-year head coach Karl Smesko, who replaced Tanisha Wright after she and the franchise parted ways in October.

When Griner takes the floor Friday for Atlanta’s regular-season opener against the Washington Mystics, she returns to the hardwood at peace and sits in a different space from where she was in the past two seasons. She missed the Mercury’s first 10 games of the 2024 campaign because of a left toe fracture. Even more, as the league kicks off its first slate of contests this weekend, it marks nearly two years from Griner’s emotional first game back with the Mercury after surviving almost 10 months in a Russian prison.

Russian authorities arrested Griner on Feb. 17, 2022, after they found vape cartridges containing small amounts of cannabis oil. In May 2022, the U.S. declared that Griner was wrongfully detained, and she was later sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony following an extensive trial that ended in August 2022.

However, Griner was released from prison Dec. 8, as part of a prisoner swap that sent international arms dealer Viktor Bout to Russia and brought Griner back to American soil.

But in the aftermath of her prison ordeal, the former No. 1 pick in the 2013 WNBA draft considered retiring during the 2023 season and even took multiple games away from the hardwood to maintain her mental health from the dehumanizing experience.

“... I definitely thought about (retiring from the WNBA),” Griner told reporters ahead of the 2024 WNBA season. “I think I was just down in the trenches and I was not feeling the best. …You never forget about it (Russian prison experience); it’s always there.”

Now in Atlanta, the 34-year-old holds the distinction as the team’s most senior player, featuring an explosive core of two-time All-Stars Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray, along with two-time champion Jordin Canada. For stars like Griner who spent their entire WNBA careers with one franchise prior to signing with the Dream, most players would not trade comfort and familiarity with a franchise unless a contending team presented a tailor-made roster to compete for a championship immediately.

However, Griner embraces the challenge of playing for a team with a first-year head coach, all while balancing parenthood with her wife, Cherelle Watson. The newness, Griner said, makes her feel young all over again.

“I don’t know if it is the youth around me or the excitement around the city, but it doesn’t feel like year 12 for me,” Griner said. “I’ve slimmed down after coming back from Russia. It took me awhile to lose that weight. I feel so much better on the court.”

Dream forward Naz Hillmon concurs: “She comes in every single day with a smile on her face. Her energy rubs off on all of us.”

Dream sequence

The Dream’s last whiff of a WNBA Finals appearance came in 2013, when the Minnesota Lynx swept Atlanta en route to their third consecutive title. Last season, Atlanta clawed its way into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed with a victory against the New York Liberty in the regular-season finale.

The Dream’s milestone also marked the franchise’s first consecutive postseason appearances since 2013 and ’14. The New York Liberty — the eventual 2024 WNBA champion — swept the Dream in the first round of the playoffs. Griner plans to help shift the trajectory of Dream basketball and elevate Atlanta to a serious postseason contender.

The 10-time All-Star’s impact and leadership both on and off the court will play a key part in Atlanta’s dream coming to fruition. When the Dream began their first day of training camp at CORE4 Athletic Complex last month, Griner was one of the first players to walk into the facility. Although the two-time scoring champ brings immense experience to Atlanta, she still finds herself learning new things about basketball.

“To be an Olympian, WNBA champion and who she is, she’s still a coachable person,” said former Dream wing Haley Jones, who was waived by the team on Wednesday.

Griner, like her teammates, describes Smesko as one who puts players first. He dives into analytics and film study as pillars of his coaching philosophy of getting high volume 3-point shooting, ball movement and superb floor spacing.

On the first day of training camp, Smesko compiled an hourlong film session filled with variations that included WNBA games from last season and games on the international circuit, as well as clips from the NBA playoffs with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers.

Griner, who had never watched film on the first day of a training camp, sat in the front row during film study and took notes.

“Hands down, he’s definitely a basketball junkie,” she said. “He’s showing us things that we probably wouldn’t have noticed, making us look at the game in a different way. The fact that he doesn’t want to look like every other coach or follow their same style in the W, I really appreciate that.”

Canada agrees with that assessment.

“He’s a super-detailed coach who’s big on looking at percentages, getting to the paint with constant cutting, shooting threes, having active hands defensively and using a lot of different terminology.” she added. “It’s definitely different from what we were used to last year. He wants us to play free and to our strengths, and BG has been a huge help with her voice as a leader.”

Those film sessions have already begun to pay off in Atlanta’s two preseason contests. Last season, the Dream held the second-worst offensive rating (99.0) and three-point shooting percentage in the league. Atlanta also sat near the bottom in effective field goal percentage, 3-point attempt rate and field-goal percentage on 2-pointers.

Griner played just two minutes in the preseason matchup against the Fever, but she had a team-high 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor, including two of the Dream’s 12 made 3-pointers in the preseason win over Washington. She added 10 rebounds, three assists and a block. Many WNBA fans wondered what a fast-paced, heavy 3-point-shooting Atlanta team would look like with traditional-style bigs in Griner and Jones.

Seeing Griner knock down jumpers from beyond the arc will be a consistent part of her arsenal in Atlanta’s offensive scheme. Last season, Griner made 9 of 18 threes in Phoenix. While playing for Team Phantom in the inaugural Unrivaled season, Griner spent time improving her 3-point shooting, going 5-of-9.

“I can knock it down,” Griner said. “Opposing teams dare me to shoot it anyway. (Smesko) gave me the green light.”

With Griner’s ability to stretch the floor, combined with dominating the glass with Jones in the interior, Atlanta has the option to push the pace, create an abundance of space for guards like Canada — when she returns from injury — Gray, Howard and others to attack the basket for more efficient shots, something Dream general manager Dan Padover is excited to see, even if it takes the early part of the season to implement.

“With a few more weapons now, there’s a learning curve in figuring out the best ways for the team to play together and players to play to their strengths,” Padover said. “I think (the rotation pieces) will be like a puzzle that we will figure out over the year.”

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Dream home

As Griner acclimates to Smesko’s philosophy and her new team, she’s also embracing the city and the comfort of being back in the South. From indulging in the city’s best lemon-pepper wings to getting out in the community and feeling the culture and connecting with fans, Atlanta reminds Griner, a Texas native, of home.

Griner feels like she’s getting the best of both worlds, something she didn’t always have in Phoenix.

“I didn’t get to see a lot of my people in Phoenix,” Griner said. “The culture was not as prominent as it is here in Atlanta. When I’m out in the city, it feels more like family, and it’s refreshing. I’m definitely not a West Coast person at heart. Being in my backyard looking at the trees and watching the squirrels run around, it reminds me of my childhood. I’m more at ease.”

Not only did Atlanta’s aesthetics play a significant part in Griner’s decision to uproot from Phoenix, but it also served a good decision for her wife, Cherelle Griner, and their son, Bash, who will turn 1 on July 8. Cherelle, who grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, now lives just eight hours from her family, versus close to 19 hours.

Cherelle Griner‘s mother lives in Atlanta. During training camp, Griner’s mother-in-law has helped watch Bash as his moms adapt to a new life.

“When we were in Phoenix, it was very much on (me and Cherelle),” Griner said. “Having outside help has helped my mental because I’m not stressed at home nor am I having as many sleepless nights. I’m able to perform and come to the gym with a better attitude.”

Starting a new chapter can be hard, especially after years of comfort. However, Griner embraces the unfamiliar and constantly seeks to evolve. Progression requires change. The Dream superstar is still in pursuit of greatness.

“When you read a book, you don’t stay in one chapter,” Griner said during her introductory news conference with the Dream. “There’s multiple chapters to a book. I just thought it was time for my next chapter in my career.”