Griner, Brittney (1990-…), is one of the most dominant centers in women’s basketball history. Griner stands 6 feet 8 inches (203 centimeters) tall. She has regularly ranked among the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) leaders in blocked shots, rebounds, and scoring. Griner has helped lead college, professional, and national teams to championships. She also set a number of records for dunk shots by a woman. 
Brittney Yevette Griner was born in Houston, Texas, on Oct. 18, 1990. She played volleyball and basketball at Houston’s Nimitz High School. She gained attention for her frequent dunks and became the nation’s top-ranked basketball recruit. She enrolled at Baylor University, where she was twice voted the Associated Press and Naismith college player of the year. Griner led Baylor to an undefeated record and its first National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship in 2012. She finished her college career ranked as the top shot blocker in men’s or women’s NCAA history and the second-ranked scorer among NCAA women.
The Phoenix Mercury selected Griner first in the 2013 WNBA draft. Griner quickly became a decisive player in the league and made the All-Rookie squad. In 2014, she helped the Mercury win the championship and was named to her first All-WNBA and All-Defensive teams. She was voted the Defensive Player of the Year in 2014 and 2015 and led the league in scoring average in 2017 and 2019. She also set a number of game and season records for blocked shots.
Griner played on United States teams that won gold medals at the 2016, 2020, and 2024 Summer Olympic Games. The 2020 games were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Griner also starred in professional leagues in China and Russia, where play occurs during the WNBA off-season. She wrote a memoir, In My Skin: My Life On and Off the Basketball Court (2014, with Sue Hovey).
In 2022, Griner became the focus of international attention after she was arrested in Russia on drug charges. In February, upon her arrival at an airport near Moscow, Russian authorities accused her of carrying, in her luggage, vape cartridges containing hashish oil, an illegal substance in Russia and in some U.S. states. Griner was arrested and taken into custody at a time of high tension between Russia and the United States—days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. State Department classified Griner as being “wrongfully detained.” In July, she pleaded guilty to charges against her but insisted that she had not intended to commit a crime. In August, a Russian court sentenced her to nine years in a penal colony. Griner was released in December in a prisoner swap between Russia and the United States. In the swap, the United States released Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer. Bout had been serving a 25-year prison term after being convicted on a number of charges, including conspiring to kill Americans. Griner resumed playing for the Phoenix Mercury in 2023.
