(This is the 10th in a series of features on Baylor Athletics' 25 for 25, which honors Baylor's top 25 athletes in the 25-year history of the Big 12 Conference (1996-21). Selected by a panel of Baylor experts, the final list was picked from a pool of over 100 candidates that came from all 19 intercollegiate sports that the school offers. Over the next couple of months, two honorees per week will be released and will also be featured during game broadcasts on the Baylor Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.)
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Described by Oklahoma State coach Jim Littell as "the best player in the world," Brittney Griner is one of a handful of players who have won an NCAA national championship, a WNBA title and an Olympic gold medal.
UConn and Team USA coach Geno Auriemma took it a step further, saying the 6-foot-9 Griner is a once-in-a-generation player.
"I would like to think that each generation would have somebody that comes in and changes the game in order for the game to grow," Auriemma said.
"Brittney, because of her skills and unique abilities, has added a dimension to the game that hasn't existed up to this point – or may have, but not to this level. It's like when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was Lew Alcindor (at UCLA). All of a sudden, the game of college men's basketball was different. Those are the kinds of moments that I think push the game forward. And I think Brittney has done and is doing that and will be doing that in the future."
The most decorated Baylor athlete ever, Griner was a two-time National Player of the Year, three-time All-American, three-time WBCA Defensive Player of the Year and three-time Big 12 Player of the Year.
In 2012, when she led Baylor to a perfect 40-0 record and the Lady Bears' second national championship, Griner also won two ESPYs as the outstanding female athlete and outstanding female collegiate athlete and was named Big 12 Athlete of the Year.
"Brittney Griner is the face of women's basketball right now. And we embrace that," Baylor coach
Kim Mulkey said after a 59-47 win over Stanford in the 2012 NCAA semifinals.
Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said Griner is "just an amazing player and has worked so hard on her game. She's a tall kid that's turned out to be a great basketball player."
She scored a Big 12-record 50 points in a Senior Night win over Kansas State and finished her unbelievable career with 3,283 points, 1,305 rebounds and NCAA records for blocks (748) and dunks (18).
But, Griner's crowning achievement came in the 2012 national championship game, when she had 26 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks in the Lady Bears' 80-61 dismantling of Notre Dame to earn Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors.
"It's sad in athletics when people feel you have to validate your talent by winning a championship," Mulkey said. "But, that's society and that's the world we live in. Brittney Griner, whether she won today or not, will go down in the history of the women's game if not the greatest post player, one of the greatest. I'm so glad she has that ring now."
Griner, who was on the losing end of a state championship game at Houston Nimitz High School, said she wanted to win the national championship "because this is what we promised coach when we got here."
"It had nothing to do with validating what type of player I am," she said. "That was the last thing in my mind. It's the team and just getting the national championship for coach and for Baylor."
While Griner's collegiate career ended with a frustrating loss to Louisville in the 2013 NCAA region semifinals, she is also the only Baylor athlete to be picked No. 1 overall in a pro sports draft. She said it was a "dream come true" when the Phoenix Mercury selected her with the No. 1 pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft.
"She's definitely going to be a player that changes the game as we know it today," said then-Mercury GM and head coach Corey Gaines.
Still going strong at 30, Griner is a six-time WNBA all-star who has averaged 17.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.9 blocks in her eight-year pro career. She was part of the Mercury's WNBA championship team in 2014, USA's gold medal-winning team at the 2016 Olympics and has also been a part of two World Championship teams.
With the 2020 Olympics postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Griner is expected to go for the gold again this summer in Tokyo.
"I definitely feel more comfortable after my first Olympics," she said. "Having that confidence now, I want to go a bit harder and put on a better show for the U.S."
Previous:
Robert Griffin III, Football (2008-11)
Dawn Greathouse Siergij, Soccer (1997-2000)
Benedikt Dorsch, Men's Tennis (2002-05)
Corey Coleman, Football (2013-15)
Whitney Canion Reichenstein, Softball (2009-14)
Trayvon Bromell, Men's T&F (2014-15)
Stacey Bowers-Smith, Women's T&F (1996-99)
Andrew Billings, Football (2013-15)
Benjamin Becker, Men's Tennis (2001-05)
