Basketball star Brittney Griner reportedly signs deal to return to Phoenix Mercury

American Brittney Griner, who was released from a Russian penal colony past December arsenic portion of a captive swap, has signed a one-year declaration to play for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, ESPN reported connected Saturday.

According to the report, which cited a source, the 32-year-old escaped cause signed the woody connected Saturday to instrumentality to the lone WNBA squad she has played for since they selected her with the archetypal prime successful the 2013 draft.

The Mercury, who unfastened their 2023 WNBA play connected May 19 astatine the Los Angeles Sparks, did not instantly respond erstwhile asked by Reuters to corroborate the ESPN report.

Griner, a two-time Olympic golden medallist and eight-time Women's National Basketball Association All-Star, was arrested successful February 2022 astatine an airdrome extracurricular Moscow for carrying vape cartridges containing hashish lipid successful her luggage.

She was subsequently convicted of cause smuggling and aboriginal transferred to 1 of Russia's astir notorious penal colonies, wherever erstwhile inmates person described torture, harsh beatings and enslaved labour conditions.

Griner was released past December successful a captive swap with Russia successful speech for arms trader Viktor Bout, a woody that was arranged aft months of talks during a clip of precocious hostility betwixt the 2 countries aft Russia's February penetration of Ukraine.

In her archetypal nationalist connection since her release, Griner said past December that she would advocator for Americans detained overseas and that she planned to instrumentality to her WNBA team.

"I mean to play hoops for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury this season, and successful doing so, I look guardant to being capable to accidental 'thank you' to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for maine successful idiosyncratic soon," Griner wrote.

Griner past played for the Mercury successful the 2021 WNBA play erstwhile she had 1 of the champion years of her vocation and averaged 20.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists implicit 30 games.