For 11 seasons, Brittney Griner played for the Phoenix Mercury, but she was rarely asked to be the locker room’s primary voice. After all, for most of her career, playing alongside OG leaders like Diana Taurasi and DeWanna Bonner meant that she just had to focus on leading through her play. But after arriving in Connecticut ahead of the 2026 season, the Sun’s locker room made it clear that they expect the veteran center to be the pilot of this team.
“Before a coach says it, I say it. At first, it was a little weird for me to – not demand the floor but to overspeak a coach a little bit. But they wanted me to do it,” she revealed in the latest episode of Sue Bird’s podcast. “They were like, it’s better coming from a player and coming from you than us sometimes, which I do get that. It is better sometimes coming from a player than from a coach, for whatever reason. So I’ve been noticing that.
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As a 35-year-old with 12 seasons of WNBA experience under her belt, Brittney Griner joined a roster loaded with young talent. Players like Aaliyah Edwards, Aneesah Morrow, Saniya Rivers, Diamond Miller, and Leïla Lacan are still finding their footing in the league, which has naturally pushed her into a larger leadership role. And according to Griner, that has been the “biggest adjustment” so far.
But her leadership role has extended far beyond team huddles and locker-room conversations. Because now, she is also a key part of the behind-the-scenes work that is usually handled by the team staff.
“On the bench, when I wasn’t playing, I was just used to being on the bench, cheering, clapping, and all that. (Now) I’ve had my little orange paper, my little pen, my little coach’s paper. So, I’m jotting down times for clips. I’m in the midst of playing and doing all that, learning how to clip and do the coaches’ work on the backside as well…It’s been fun. Honestly, I’m not going to lie. I like it. I like it a lot. But it’s been really good,” Griner shared.
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But while Griner has embraced her new responsibilities, her own season as a player has been a bit of a roller-coaster ride.
So far, the 6-foot-9 center has appeared in just eight of Connecticut’s first 17 due to multiple injury setbacks.
She was first sidelined earlier this season for two games after she suffered a left foot injury. But just when fans thought she was back after a game against the Portland Fire, she had to sit on the bench again for four games due to a rib issue, which became a lingering problem. She played two more games before the rib injury sidelined her again for matchups against the New York Liberty and Toronto Tempo.
However, since then, she has worked her way back into the lineup while continuing to play under minutes restrictions. Over her last three appearances, Brittney Griner has averaged 10.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in roughly 23 minutes per game.
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Connecticut is still trying to climb out of a difficult start to the season, and her return will be key to that effort. But while the Sun continues searching for wins, Griner has already found herself doing something she rarely had to do during her first 12 seasons in the league: leading from everywhere.
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