Brittney Griner played 11 years with the Phoenix Mercury before joining Atlanta Dream in free agency. The Mercury honored Griner with a video tribute.
The Phoenix Mercury's 90-79 home loss to the Atlanta Dream on July 23 was more than just the Mercury working off rust in their first game following the All-Star break.
The game evoked emotional family reunion energy among former Mercury teammates Brittney Griner, Diana Taurasi, Penny Taylor and DeWanna Bonner.
It was also a chummy group hug for Alyssa Thomas and Bonner with their ex-Connecticut Sun teammate and All-Star big Brionna James.
Griner's first return to PHX Arena drew smiles, laughs and tears from her and the X-Factor crowd as she stood alone on the court before the tip-off.
The Mercury honored the 6-foot-9 future Hall of Famer with a two-minute pregame video tribute on the Jumbotron, showing gratitude for the 11 years she played in Phoenix. She left in free agency for Atlanta this offseason.
The third-place Mercury (15-8) also gave Taurasi, the WNBA's all-time leading scorer, a video tribute as well.
Taurasi was at the game with her wife, former Mercury player Penny Taylor, a Ring of Honor inductee. They, along with Bonner and Griner, led the Mercury to their last of the franchise's three titles in 2014.
“Meant everything," said Griner (17 points, eight rebounds) said after the game. "When I looked over, I saw Dee (Diana Taurasi) and Penny (Taylor) over there, I think that kind of ignited me a little bit. Just being back on the court that I basically started my career on and played the majority of, it just felt good.
"Like the crowd, seeing familiar faces, hearing old stories, signing jerseys. It was a really good, good feeling. I said I was going to hold my tears to the end, but they got me, they got me a little bit.”
Phoenix Mercury’s pregame video tribute to Brittney Griner.
— DANA (@iam_DanaScott) July 24, 2025
She played 11 years with the franchise, helped lead them to the 2014 WNBA title, and their appearance in the 2021 Finals.
She joined Atlanta Dream as a free agent on February 2. pic.twitter.com/xJwbaxJs1d
Phoenix's second-year coach Nate Tibbetts spoke with gratitude about Griner before the game. He said Griner played for him "with open arms" during his first year with the team, which had a 19-21 record and was eliminated in the 2024 playoffs' first round by the eventual championship runner-up Minnesota Lynx.
The Mercury had an overhaul of their roster after last season, marked by Taurasi's retirement after 20 years, all with the Mercury, on Feb. 25.
Phoenix also made a series of trades involving Indiana, Dallas and Connecticut that saw the departure of Natasha Cloud, Rebecca Allen and Sophie Cunningham and the acquisition of current leading scorer Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas. They joined last year's leading Mercury scorer, Kahleah Copper.
“Unfortunately, at times teams go in different directions or players go in different directions, I don’t know if today is the day to talk about that," Tibbetts said. "It’s to welcome her back and give her flowers and love that she deserves."
Tibbets remained in coach mode leading up to the game, keeping Griner high on the team's pre-game scouting.
Also before the game, Bonner and the Mercury All-Star Thomas, playfully snuck up on the Dream's All-Star Jones at mid-court during the players' individual warmups. Like Griner, Jones joined the Dream as a free agent after she played her first eight years with Thomas in Connecticut. Both played college ball at Maryland.
Champions in 2014. Icons in 2025. pic.twitter.com/3OZ4Bgx4qA
— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) July 24, 2025
After Bonner was traded by Phoenix in February 2020, she played the five seasons with her fiancée Thomas and Jones in Connecticut. As the team's core trio, they led the league's winningest team without a title, Connecticut, to five straight playoff appearances, including the Sun's 2022 Finals loss to the Las Vegas Aces.
Bonner didn't view the pageantry of tributes to Griner and Taurasi and nostalgia as a distraction to try and win the game. Rather a motivation to beat the league's fifth-place Dream (14-10) in their second of back-to-back road games.
“I don’t think I see it as a distraction, personally,” Bonner (18 points off the bench) said. “Of course, BG, I had been playing with her for a lot of years and it was good to see her, but it was BG’s welcome home night. That was huge, but it’s an honor to have Dee and Penny come back and see us play."
Former longtime Connecticut Sun teammates Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones reunite during individual warmups before the Dream-Mercury game in Phoenix. pic.twitter.com/5FPc6IaBX1
— DANA (@iam_DanaScott) July 24, 2025
Bonner added: "We always want to try to put up a good show because we wouldn’t be here without them. So I don’t know if it’s a distraction, but at the same time I feel like it’s a little bit motivation for me and everybody. This is something they built and we’re just trying to continue the legacy.''
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Griner's return to Phoenix was Mercury's 2014 title team reunion
Category: Basketball
