Brittney Griner with the hoop & harm (0:16)
Ten-time WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner is getting a seven-figure deal to join the Connecticut Sun, sources confirmed to ESPN on Friday.
The Sun announced a one-year contract with Griner on Saturday without disclosing the value.
The move comes as the Sun prepare for their final season in Connecticut before the franchise's relocation to Houston in 2027. Griner, 35, is a Houston native and played collegiately at Baylor.
Griner will join a team that is building around a young core, including Connecticut draftees Leila Lacan, Saniya Rivers and Aneesah Morrow as well as recently acquired players Diamond Miller and Aaliyah Edwards.
Free agent Kennedy Burke also agreed to a one-year deal with the Sun, sources told ESPN.
Griner, a 6-foot-9 center, is a six-time All-WNBA and seven-time All-Defensive team selection, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, eight-time blocks leader, and two-time scoring champion.
Before last season, she had spent her entire career with the Phoenix Mercury, who drafted her No. 1 in 2013. She helped them win a championship the following year.
Last year was the start of a new era for Griner as she left Phoenix to join the Atlanta Dream. She registered career lows in minutes (20.8), points (9.8), rebounds (5.2) and blocks (1.2) and was coming off the bench by the end of the season.
Griner has also had an illustrious international career, including as a three-time gold medalist with USA Basketball.
She missed the 2022 WNBA season after being wrongfully detained in Russia for nearly 10 months.
Sun sideline reporter Terrika Foster-Brasby first reported Griner's deal with Connecticut.
Burke, meanwhile, spent the past two seasons with the New York Liberty, winning a title with the team in 2024. She's coming off a career season in New York, where she averaged 8.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 21.6 minutes per game, while also shooting 41.4% from the 3-point arc.
Burke recently won EuroCup Finals MVP with Mersin and in the recent qualifying tournament, Burke led Turkey to clinch a spot in the World Cup. She has also previously played under Sun coach Rachid Meziane for the French club Villeneuve d'Ascq.
Before the Liberty, Burke suited up in the WNBA for the Indiana Fever, Seattle Storm and Washington Mystics; she was drafted out of UCLA in the second round by the Dallas Wings in 2019.
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