Brittney Yevette Griner was born on born 18 October 1990 in Houston, Texas, USA. She is a Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) player with the Phoenix Mercury team and also a member of China’s Zhejiang Golden Bulls.
So how rich is Brittney Griner? She has an estimated net worth of $3 million which she has accumulated from her basketball career, which she has done professionally since 2013. She is considered to be one of the highest paid female basketball players today, as she is reported to be receiving an annual salary of $600,000 playing for China’s Zhejiang Golden Bulls.
Brittney Griner Net Worth $3 Million
Griner is the daughter of Raymond and Sandra Griner and the youngest of four children. She went to Nimitz High School where she played volleyball as a freshman and basketball all throughout high school. During her senior year, she led the team to the Texas 5A girl’s basketball state championship game. Griner also holds the record for the most number of blocks in a game, a feat she achieved against the Houston Alief Hastings with a total of 25 blocks. Due to her exemplary performance on the court, the mayor of Houston declared May 7 as Brittney Griner Day in 2009. That same year, Griner became part of Women’s Chinese Basketball Association (WBCA) All-American and led the team to victory at the WCBA High School All-America game.
After high school, she played ball at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. As early as her freshman year, Griner had already established herself as one of the best shot blockers in women’s basketball. In 2010, she became the seventh female to dunk during a game and the second to do it twice in one game. A few months later, she was suspended for two games after punching a fellow player after a foul, but despite this mishap, her team made the Final Four in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament, eventually losing to eventual champions the University of Connecticut. Two years later, they were declared victors after an undefeated season of 40 wins, with Griner being named the Final Four’s Most Valuable Player. She was also the WBCA NCAA Division Defensive Player of the Year from 2009 to 2013. After their win, Griner applied and became part of the finalists’ roster on the US women’s national basketball team for the Olympics but later withdrew, and a month later, broke her wrist.
She then joined the 2013 WNBA Draft and became the first overall pick by the Phoenix Mercury. During her first season, she became known for her dunking skills, and became the first in WNBA history to dunk twice in a game and the first to do so in a play-off game. In the championship game, the Mercury defeated the Chicago Sky, their third win in the team’s history. During the WNBA’s off-season, Griner left for China to join Zhejiang Golden Bulls team, which offered her a salary six times more than the maximum salary at the WNBA. Her net worth continues to grow.
Apart from basketball, Griner enjoys longboarding and has two pet snakes named Audii and Sage. In 2013, Griner came out as a lesbian. A year later, she was engaged to fellow WNBA player Glory Johnson. However, weeks before their wedding, the couple was arrested and charged with assault and disorderly conduct in their home in Arizona. Despite the incident, they married on 9 May 2015. Nearly a month after, and a day after they announced Johnson’s pregnancy, Griner filed for annulment under claims of fraud and duress. Days later, WNBA suspended both Griner and Johnson for a total of seven games after Griner pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. In addition, Griner was subjected to 26 weeks of mandatory domestic violence counseling.
