Quick Facts of Brittney Yevette Griner
Full Name: | Brittney Yevette Griner |
Age: | 34 years old |
Birthday: | 18 October 1990 |
Birthplace: | Houston, Texas, United States |
Nationality: | American |
Gender: | Female |
Horoscope: | Libra |
Husband: | Glory Johnson (m. 2015–2016) |
Net Worth: | $5 million |
Height: | 2.06 m |
Profession: | American professional basketball player |
Sibling: | N/A |
Who is Brittney Yevette Griner?
Brittney Yevette Griner, better known as Brittney Griner, is an American professional basketball player for the Women’s National Basketball Association’s Phoenix Mercury (WNBA). She was drafted first overall by the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury in 2013 and was named a WNBA All-Star in her first year with the team.
She was named the #1 Women’s Basketball Player in the Country in 2009 after excelling for Nimitz High School’s basketball team in Houston, Texas. She also led Baylor to the women’s national championship in 2012, and she was named Division I Player of the Year.
Griner led Baylor to a national championship during the same season that legendary coach Pat Summitt stepped down due to her ongoing dementia battle. She was also named to the United States women’s national team for the 2020 Olympics, which will be held in June 2021, where she will win her second gold medal.
What is the Age of Brittney Yevette Griner?
Brittney Griner was born on October 18, 1990, as Brittney Yevette Griner in Houston, Texas, United States. Her nationality is American, and her ethnicity is African-American. Her religion is also Christian, and she is black. Brittney turned 34 in 2024, and her star sign is Libra, according to her birth date.
She is the daughter of Raymond Griner (father) and Sandra Griner (mother). Shkera Griner, Decarlo Griner, and Pier Griner are her three older siblings. Griner went to Nimitz High School in Houston for her education.
Who is Brittney Yevette Griner’s Husband?
Brittney Griner is a married woman. In 2021, she married a woman named Cherelle Watson, aka Cherelle T. Griner. Brittney revealed in one of her Instagram posts that she met her wife at Baylor University. The couple recently celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary.
On August 14, 2014, Griner announced her engagement to fellow WNBA player Glory Johnson. They were arrested on assault and disorderly conduct charges on April 22, 2015, after police responded to a fight between the two in their Goodyear, Arizona home.
Both had been injured in some way. Later that month, on May 8, 2015, the couple married in Phoenix. On June 4, 2015, they announced that Johnson was pregnant with twins conceived through in vitro fertilization using Johnson’s eggs.
Griner filed for an annulment the next day, after less than a month of marriage, citing fraud and duress; the annulment was denied. Johnson gave birth to twin girls 16 weeks early on October 12, 2015. Griner was ordered to pay Johnson child support. In June 2016, the couple’s divorce was finalized. She is a lesbian, according to her sexual orientation.
What is the Net Worth of Brittney Yevette Griner?
Brittney Griner is a multi-talented woman with a $5 million net worth as of June 2024. For several years, she was a member of the Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg. Griner’s salary with Mercury is expected to be around $228,000 in 2022.
Her Nike endorsement deal was the first time the company had done so with an openly gay athlete. Furthermore, her primary source of income is her basketball playing career, and she is happy and content with the profession she is in.
How Tall is Brittney Griner?
Brittney Griner has a tall height of 6 ft 9 in or 206 cm and a healthy body weight of 93 kg or 205 lbs. She has dark brown hair and blue eyes. Griner also has an athletic body build with body measurements of 30-25-35 inches. She has also inked several tattoos on her body, which has drawn a lot of attention to her.
Why was Brittney Griner Arrested in Russia?
Brittney Griner was arrested in Russia on drug charges in February 2022. She was detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport with what the Federal Security Service described as hashish oil, a prohibited substance in Russia.
There is concern that Russia is holding her hostage in response to Western sanctions in the midst of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat in Congress, is advocating for her release. USA Basketball, the sport’s governing body in the United States, said on Twitter that it was “aware of and closely monitoring Brittney Griner’s legal situation in Russia.”
“Brittney has always handled herself with the utmost professionalism during her long tenure with USA Basketball, and her safety and well-being are our primary concerns,” the statement continued. “We love and support Brittney, and at this time our main concern is her safety, physical and mental health, and safe return home,” the team said in a statement, echoing the language of USA Basketball.
When did Brittney Yevette Griner Begin her Career?
- As a member of the Women’s National Basketball Association’s Phoenix Mercury (WNBA).
Brittney Griner’s Professional Career
- Brittney Griner begins her career as a freshman, playing varsity volleyball and working with a Nimitz football coach.
- During her senior year, she led the Nimitz Cougars to the Texas 5A girls basketball state championship game, in which Nimitz lost 52-43 to Mansfield Summit High School.
- As a senior, she dunked 52 times in 32 games and blocked 25 shots against Houston Alief Hastings on November 11, 2008.
- She was a WBCA All-American and played in the 2009 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she recorded Baylor’s first triple-double with 34 points, 13 rebounds, and a Big 12 Conference record 11 blocked shots.
- In January 2010, she became only the seventh player in women’s college basketball history to dunk, and only the second woman to dunk twice in a single game.
- Then, as a fourth seed, she upset top-seeded Tennessee in the Sweet 16 and set an NCAA tournament record with 14 blocked shots in a 49-33 win over the Georgetown Hoyas on March 22nd.
- She advanced to the Final Four before falling to eventual champion UConn, 70-50, and was named an
- Associated Press Second Team All-American.
- She was named First Team All-American after averaging 23 points per game in her junior season and 23.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 5 blocks in her sophomore season.
- She was also named AP Player of the Year and Premier Player of Women’s College Basketball in 2012.
- She led Baylor to the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship, 80-61 over Notre Dame on April 3, 2012, with 26 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots, and was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player.
- Baylor finished the season undefeated with 40 victories.
- Later, after winning the championship on April 3, 2012, she decided to withdraw her candidacy for a roster spot on the 2012 United States, and her college career ended in the 2013 NCAA women’s basketball tournament when Baylor lost to the University of Louisville Cardinals in the Sweet 16.
Professional career
WNBA
- Brittney Griner was chosen first overall by the Phoenix Mercury in the 2013 WNBA Draft, where she equaled the WNBA dunk record, recording two dunks to equal Candace Parker’s career total in her debut on May 27, 2013, against the Chicago Sky.
- She became the third WNBA player to dunk and the first to do so twice in the same game, but she was unable to participate in the 2013 WNBA All-Star Game due to a right knee injury.
- She set a WNBA record with 11 blocks in a regular-season game win over the Tulsa Shock on June 29, 2014, and she became the first WNBA player to dunk in a playoff game when she helped the Mercury defeat the Los
- Angeles Sparks, 93-68, at Staples Center the following year.
- Griner would have the most prolific defensive season in WNBA history in 2015, averaging a career-high and
- WNBA records 4.0 blocks per game, breaking Margo Dydek’s record set in 1998.
- Griner averaged 14.5 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game, and 3.1 blocks per game as the Mercury finished 16-18 in 2016. She also recorded the sixth triple-double in WNBA history in a win over the Atlanta Dream, with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 blocks.
- She later re-signed with the Mercury to a multi-year contract after her rookie contract expired on March 12, 2017, and scored a career-high 38 points and 9 rebounds in a 98-90 overtime win over the Indiana Fever on June 7, 2017.
- She would miss the final eight games of the season and the 2017 WNBA All-Star Game due to ankle and knee injuries, but she finished the season leading the league in scoring (21.9 points per game) and blocking for the fifth consecutive season.
- In 2018, she played all 34 games for the third time in her career and was selected to the 2018 WNBA All-Star
- Game, her fifth all-star appearance.
- Griner played all 34 games for the third time in her career in 2018 and was selected to the 2018 WNBA All-Star
- Game, her fifth all-star appearance. She was voted into the 2019 WNBA All-Star Game, making it her sixth career all-star game appearance in 2019, after scoring a season-high 34 points in a 94-86 loss to the Chicago Sky on August 25th, 2019.
- Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the season was postponed and shortened to 22 games at IMG Academy. Griner was forced to leave the bubble after 12 games due to unspecified personal reasons. Without Brittney, the Mercury finished 13-9 and were seeded fifth.
- Furthermore, she spent two weeks in September 2011 playing for the United States National Team under coach Geno Auriemma as part of its European training tour, where she averaged 12.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game with the USA team in Europe.
- On the roster of the 2012 U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team finalists, she was the only player who was still in college.
- She was a member of the United States Olympic women’s basketball team during the 2016 Summer Olympics, where they won their first Olympic gold medal, defeating Spain 101-72 in the final.
- She was chosen to compete in her second Olympics in 2021.
Griner spent the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 offseasons with teammate Diana Taurasi at UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia, where they won back-to-back championships. - Later, in August 2016, she re-signed with UMMC Ekaterinburg for the 2016-17 off-season, and in 2017, she re-signed with UMMC Ekaterinburg for the 2017-2018 off-season.
She did, however, return to UMMC Ekaterinburg for a fifth stint during the 2018-2019 off-season.
Achievements and Awards
- Champion of the WNBA (2014)
- 7 All-Stars in the WNBA (2013-2015, 2017-2019, 2021)
- WNBA scoring champion No. 2 (2017, 2019)
- Leader in WNBA blocks with 8 (2013-2019, 2021)
- Peak Performer in the WNBA (2017, 2019)
- 3 First-Team All-WNBA (2014, 2019, 2021)
- 3 Second Team All-WNBA (2015, 2017, 2018)
- Defensive Player of the Year in the WNBA twice (2014, 2015)
- 3 WNBA First-Team All-Defensive (2014, 2015, 2018)
- 4 WNBA Second Team All-Defensive (2016, 2017, 2019, 2021)
- All-Rookie Team of the WNBA (2013)
- Team for the WNBA’s 25th Anniversary (2021)
- Champion of the Russian National League No. 3 (2015-2017)
- 4 times EuroLeague champion (2016, 2018, 2019, 2021)
- Winner of the Russian Cup (2017)
- Champion of the NCAA (2012)
- NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player (2012)
- Player of the Year, according to the Associated Press (2012)
- Honda Sports Achievement Award (2012)
- Wade Trophy Player of the Year No. 2 (2012, 2013)
- 2 AP First-Team All-American (2011, 2012)
- AP second-team All-American (2010)
- 3 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year (2011-2013)
- 4 Defensive Player of the Year in the Big 12 (2010-2013)
- All-American Meal at McDonald’s (2009)
- High School Player of the Year, WBCA (2009)
Image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/Brittney_Griner_3_%28cropped2%29.jpg/651px-Brittney_Griner_3_%28cropped2%29.jpg