Brittney Griner to sign with Connecticut Sun, AP source says

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Brittney Griner is finalizing a deal to join the Connecticut Sun, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Friday night because contracts can’t be signed until Saturday.

The 10-time All-Star spent last season with the Atlanta Dream after playing the first 11 years of her career for Phoenix, which drafted her No. 1 in 2013.

The 35-year-old Griner is from Houston and the Connecticut franchise is moving there in 2027.

The 6-foot-9 forward won a WNBA title in 2014 with Phoenix and was the league's leading scorer in 2017 and 2019. She was the defensive player of the year in 2014 and 2015.

Griner also helped the United States win gold in each of the past three Olympics.

Last season for Atlanta, she averaged 9.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks, which were all career lows.

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 U.S. released notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The Sun have a young nucleus that Griner will provide a veteran presence for. The team lost Marina Mabrey in the expansion draft to Toronto. Connecticut has Aneesah Morrow, Saniya Rivers and Leila Lacan, all of whom were drafted over the last two seasons. The Sun also acquired former UConn forward Aaliyah Edwards last season.

This has been a busy offseason since the league and the players’ union signed a transformational labor deal that saw average salaries rise nearly fourfold. Players can earn over $1 million annually for the first time in league history, which is more than four times the previous maximum salary. More than 80% of players in the league are free agents.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball