PHOENIX (AP) - All-Star center Brittney Griner is staying in the desert.
The Phoenix Mercury signed Griner to a multi-year contract on Friday, possibly locking up one of the WNBA’s most dominant players through the end of her career.
The 6-foot-8 Griner has been an All-Star every year — there was no All-Star Game in 2016 due to the Olympics — since being selected with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2013 WNBA draft out of Baylor.
Griner helped lead the Mercury to the 2014 WNBA title, is a two-time league scoring champion and two-time defensive player of the year. She’s been named to the All-WNBA team five times and the All-WNBA defensive team six times.
Griner won a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics and has led the WNBA in blocked shots each of her seven seasons. She holds WNBA records for blocked shots in a game (11), a season (129), season average (4.04) and career average (3.0).
Griner also has dunked 12 times in regular-season games and once in the playoffs. The rest of the league has combined for three regular-season dunks in 23 WNBA seasons.
She and former league MVP Diana Taurasi have been one of the WNBA’s best duos and the Mercury added four-time All-Star point guard Skylar Diggins-Smith earlier this week.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.