Brittney Griner signs year deal with Phoenix Mercury following Russian detainment

Brittney Griner is heading back to the Phoenix Mercury following her nearly year-long detainment in Russia.

The 32-year-old signed one-year deal to stay with Phoenix on Saturday, the team that drafted her first overall back in 2013, according to ESPN.

Griner missed the entire 2022 WNBA season after she was arrested last February at a Russian airport for carrying cannabis oil. Griner spent eight months in a Russian jail before she was moved to a penal colony after a court rejected the appeal of her nine-year sentence.

After months of negotiations, the two-time Olympic gold medalist was eventually swapped on Dec. 8 in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in December. President Joe Biden’s administration tried to get another detained American, Paul Whelan, home but the Russians did not agree for his release. Whelan, a former Marine, is still being held by Russia.

Shortly after her release, Griner said she intended to play for the Mercury this season on Instagram – a promise she kept by signing the one-year contract.

After months of strained negotiations, and an extraordinarily rare public revelation by the President Joe Biden’s administration that it had made a “substantial proposal” to get home Griner and another detained American, Paul Whelan, Griner’s case resolved on Dec. 8 with a prisoner swap in which the WNBA star was exchanged in the United Arab Emirates for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The eight-time All-Star last played in 2021, when she led the Mercury on a run to the WNBA Finals. 

During that season, Griner averaged some of the best numbers of her career, putting up 20.5 points and 1.9 blocks a game. She also averaged a career-high in rebounds with 9.5 boards a contest.

According to ESPN, Her Hoops Stats was the first to report Griner’s deal with Phoenix.

In mid-December, Griner first spoke out after her release.

“It feels so good to be home! The last 10 months have been a battle at every turn,” she said on Instagram after her release from a military medical facility at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, where she underwent a freed prisoner reintegration program upon her return to the United States last week.

Griner also said she had “dug deep to keep my faith” that she would eventually be returned to the US throughout her legal battle.