Brittney Griner (’13), the Baylor basketball legend-turned-WNBA superstar, has a new title to add to her impressive roster of accolades: the newest Bear to join the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
The award is one more impressive feat in the 34-year-old’s legendary career as an NCAA champion, WNBA champion, three-time olympic gold medalist, 2012 and 2013 recipient of the Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award, among several other awards.
Griner is undoubtably one of the most decorated athletes in Baylor history. In her time at the University, she became a three-time All-American team member, three-time Big 12 Player of the Year, and a four-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. As a junior in 2011-2012, she led the Bears to a 40-0 perfect season and was named the NCAA tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
Currently, she ranks sixth on the NCAA women’s basketball all-time scoring list with 3,283 points. She also holds the NCAA record for career blocks at 748.
In a pre-induction press conference on Feb. 15, Griner said winning the national championship to close out a perfect season was a defining moment in her collegiate career. But she also looks back on her final home game for Baylor fondly – fans of the 2013 team may remember the electric senior night game when Griner hammered in three slam dunks (one in front of former President George W. Bush) to beat Florida State, 85-47.
“There was a game, senior night, I’m sure coach probably remembers this one,” Griner said with a laugh. “I had two dunks already and then we were going into halftime and I think I may have said I need to give the fans one more dunk and, I mean, I stood on my business and got the last dunk. So I got three in that game. That was a pretty spectacular game for me, honestly.”
Her inspiring collegiate run led her to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 WNBA draft. Since then she’s been an eight-time All-Star and two-time Defensive Player of the Year with the Phoenix Mercury.
She’s also been a part of three Olympic gold medal-winning USA Basketball teams. However, she said nothing compares to that first run for the gold playing alongside some of the greats of the game.
“Winning my first gold was probably my most memorable game,” Griner said. “We had Diana [Taurasi], we had Sue [Bird]. I mean, I had all the legends that I look up to on the team and I think I was just a sponge that whole ride, just kind of soaking in everything that they had, all the little nuggets.”
Along with all of her athletic achievements, Griner was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2023. In June of that same year, she earned the Seasonlong WNBA Cares Community Assist Award in honor of her advocacy for the safe return of wrongful detainees overseas and for helping marginalized communities in Phoenix.
“Giving back has always been a big thing in my household – giving back, supporting the community that you’re in, wherever I play,” Griner said. “I love to be immersed into the community, giving back helping out. I’m blessed to have an abundance of time, my social media presence, the wealth to actually give back, and for me to just hoard all that would be dishonest to me and who I am and my family.”
During the Texas Sports Hall of Fame’s induction banquet, Griner attributed pieces of her success to family, coaches, and teammates who helped her along the way. Through teary eyes, she also thanked everyone who kept her in their hearts while she was detained in Russia.
“I wouldn’t be a hall of famer, a basketball player right now, if it wasn’t for all of y’all,” Griner said. “Everything that y’all did when I was gone, all the prayers that went up, the letters that came in, literally everything. From the bottom of my heart I want to say thank you, and I’m able to be here tonight because of y’all.”
She thanked her family – notably her father, who never missed a Baylor game – and her high school coaches, who helped her trade in her volleyball and soccer uniforms for a basketball jersey.
“I think that was the right choice. Those spandex were getting a little tight,” she said with a laugh.
She also named former Associate Head Coach Bill Brock – who now serves as head coach at Tarleton – and his wife Janice.
“I had an amazing career here in Waco, just learned everything I needed to learn, honestly, to propel me going forward,” Griner said. “… That bank shot, that soft touch around the rim – that was Coach Brock.”
And her acceptance speech wouldn’t have been complete without a “Sic ’em Bears.”
Growing up in Houston, Griner said she never knew basketball would bring her to the level of success she’s achieved. She gave credit to her parents throughout the celebratory day and said staying grounded and being true to yourself – two values her parents instilled in her – was her advice to young athletes dreaming to replicate her accomplishments.
“They taught me to stay grounded, and that honestly helped me out through my whole career,” Griner said. “And then just being true to yourself. Honestly, I don’t think I ever changed from Nimitz High School to Baylor, to the pros, to the Olympics. I think that’s what honestly helped me out the most, being true to myself.”
