The Atlanta Dream‘s early playoff exit closed a season that fell short of expectations, but events away from the court have carried equal significance for Brittney Griner.
The Atlanta Dream finished the 2025 regular season with a 30-14 record, good enough for the No. 3 seed. Momentum, however, did not carry into the postseason.
Atlanta were eliminated 2-1 in the opening round by the Indiana Fever, a series that ended quickly and left a sense of unfinished business, particularly given Indiana‘s absence of Caitlin Clark.
For Griner, the year was defined by adjustment. In her first season away from the Phoenix Mercury after more than a decade, she accepted a reduced role, often coming off the bench.
Griner‘s professional life has long extended beyond the WNBA. From 2015 to 2022, she spent her offseasons playing for UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia, a common path for elite players seeking competition and financial security abroad.
That arrangement ended abruptly in February 2022, when she was detained at an airport near Moscow after customs officials found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage.
She spent 293 days in a Russian prison before being released in December 2022 as part of a prisoner exchange. While Griner returned home, pieces of that experience remained unresolved, both emotionally and physically.
A personal chapter finally comes to an end
In February 2026, Griner received belongings that had remained in her Moscow apartment since her arrest, a moment that marked a rare sense of closure. The returned items included a hand-drawn image of herself, 600 Czech koruna, a photograph of Griner with her wife Cherelle, several pieces of jewellery and a small cooking device she used while incarcerated.
“Finally got back my belongings from my apartment in Russia,” Griner wrote on Instagram. “Full unboxing video is out on my YouTube channel now. Link in story.”
On the basketball side, another transition is imminent. Griner‘s one-year contract with Atlanta, worth $214,466, has expired, making her an unrestricted free agent. She becomes eligible to sign a new deal when free agency opens on March 11.
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