Report: Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury Agree to 1-Year Contract for 2023 Season

Brittney Griner is reportedly returning to the only WNBA team she has ever known.

According to Josh Weinfuss and M.A. Vopel of ESPN, the center agreed to a one-year contract with the Mercury on Saturday and will return for what will be her 10th season with the franchise. She missed the 2022 campaign because she was detained in Russia for 10 months.

That wasn't the only move for the Mercury on Saturday, as Weinfuss noted the team also brought back Diana Taurasi. The WNBA's all-time leading scorer signed a multiyear contract with the team.

As for Griner, it doesn't come as much of a surprise that she will be suiting up for the Mercury, considering she announced on Instagram in December that was her plan upon returning to the United States:

Her return to the court will be one of the most notable WNBA storylines of the season.

On Dec. 8, Jennifer Hansler, Kylie Atwood, Jeremy Herb, MJ Lee and Kevin Liptak of CNN reported President Joe Biden announced Griner was released from Russian detention as part of a prisoner swap that also involved Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Griner was detained in February in Russia, where she played during the WNBA's offseason. While she said she inadvertently packed cannabis oil, she was charged with drug smuggling and was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Russian authorities then moved her to a penal colony in November after she lost an appeal.

United States officials maintained that she was wrongfully detained throughout the 10 months.

Her eventual return to the United States cleared the way for her to come back to the WNBA and the franchise that selected her out of Baylor with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2013 WNBA draft. She is a Phoenix legend as a seven-time All-Star who helped lead the team to the 2014 championship.

Griner also helped the Mercury reach the 2021 WNBA Finals in her most recent season by averaging 20.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.9 blocks per game.