Brittney Griner, before being caught up in this narcotics affair, was above all a basketball player. And even one of the best pivots that the WNBA, the American basketball league, has known.
Just look at the record of the American 2m06. In terms of collective titles, it is a WNBA championship title (2014), five Russian championship titles (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) and four Euroleague won (2016, 2018, 2019, 2021). With the United States, it is also a gold medal at the 2014 and 2018 world championships as well as two gold medals at the Olympic Games (Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020). We had also been able to see the pivot, number 15 in the back, at work against our Belgian Cats during the Tokyo Olympics last year.
Besides that, Griner also collects individual awards. Present in the WNBA All-Rookie Team 2013 for her first year in the WNBA, she will then be selected for five All-Star Games: 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019. Best defender of the WNBA season in 2014, she is also part of of the WNBA Top Five that season. Three times in the defensive best five (2014, 2015, 2018) and twice in the second best defensive five (2016, 2017), she was also twice in the WNBA second best five (2017, 2018). In Europe, she has also won numerous awards, winning three times the title of MVP of the Russian championship and once that of MVP of the Euroleague Final Four.
Titles and distinctions that are proof of the great career of Griner, who, at 31, continued to make the show. It must be said that the American is an outstanding defender. She also holds the record for blocks in a game (11) and in a season (129) in the WNBA. She also played a key role in the title of the Phoenix Mercury by making 8 blocks including 5 in the first quarter during the first match of the finals against Chicago. An extraordinary performance since it is the record for the most blocks in a WNBA Finals game and in a quarter of a WNBA Finals game.
Offensively, Griner also knows how to clean house. Taking advantage of her size, she is one of the only players to be able to dunk. During the first match of the 2014 world championships against China, she also became the first woman to score a dunk in a women’s world championship.
