[1] She is a three-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's national basketball team[2][3] and a six-time WNBA All-Star.

On February 17, 2022, Griner was detained and arrested on smuggling charges by Russian customs officials after cartridges containing less than a gram of medically prescribed hash oil,[17] illegal in Russia, were found in her luggage.

Starting in her sophomore year, Griner practiced with the boys' basketball team, and worked with a Nimitz football coach to develop her leg strength in preparation for learning to dunk.

[27] During her junior season, a YouTube video featuring her dunks was watched more than 6.6 million times,[28] leading to a meeting with Shaquille O'Neal.

On April 3, 2012, Griner led Baylor with 26 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocked shots to win the Division I Women's Basketball Championship, 80–61 over Notre Dame.

[46] After winning the championship on April 3, 2012, Griner decided to withdraw her candidacy for a roster spot on the 2012 U.S. Olympic women's basketball team.

[47] Her college career came to an end in the 2013 NCAA women's basketball tournament when Baylor lost to the University of Louisville Cardinals during her senior year, in the Sweet 16.

On June 29, 2014, Griner had set a WNBA record with 11 blocks in a regular season game win against the Tulsa Shock, along with 21 points and 8 rebounds.

[55] On August 24, 2014, Griner became the first WNBA player to dunk in a playoff game when she helped the Mercury defeat the Los Angeles Sparks, 93–68, at Staples Center.

They made it all the way to the WNBA finals and swept the Chicago Sky 3 games to 0, to capture the Mercury's third championship in franchise history.

During the season, Griner had recorded the sixth triple-double in WNBA history in a win against the Atlanta Dream where she had 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks.

[59] With the WNBA's new playoff format in effect, the Mercury were the number 8 seed in the league as they faced the Indiana Fever in the first round.

In the second round elimination game, the Mercury defeated the number 3 seeded New York Liberty, Griner had 22 points 10 rebounds and 4 blocks in the win.

The Mercury advanced to the semifinals (the last round before the WNBA finals) against the championship defending Minnesota Lynx in a best-of-5 series but would get swept 3–0.

In the second round elimination game, the Mercury defeated the Connecticut Sun 96–86, advancing to the semi-finals for the third year in a row, they would face off against the Seattle Storm.

[74] In the 2013–14 off-season, she played in China for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the WCBA where she signed a four-month contract for $600,000, which was 12 times the amount she made in her rookie season with the Mercury.

[77][78] In the 2014–15 and 2015–16 off-seasons, Griner played in Russia for UMMC Ekaterinburg with teammate Diana Taurasi, winning back-to-back championships.

On October 2, 2024, it was announced that Griner would appear and play in the inaugural season of Unrivaled, the women's 3x3 basketball league founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.

In September 2011, Griner spent two weeks playing under coach Geno Auriemma for the U.S. national team as part of its European training tour.

[89] During the medal ceremony when the U.S. national anthem was played, Griner would get emotional at the event, thinking she wouldn't even be here again following her previous arrest in Russia back in 2022.

[109] Griner had previously come out to her parents in high school, which her father did not accept gracefully, forcing her to live with an assistant coach for six weeks during her senior year.

[110] She later wrote a memoir with Sue Hovey addressing bullying and self-acceptance, In My Skin: My Life On and Off the Basketball Court, published in 2014.

[115] Griner continues to push back on traditional gender roles as she regularly models clothes branded as "menswear" for Nike.

[114] Nike spokesman Brian Strong said of signing Griner, "We can't get into specifics, but it's safe to say we jumped at the opportunity to work with her because she breaks the mold.

"[114] In 2020, Griner, along with teammate Brianna Turner, called for the WNBA to stop playing the United States national anthem before the games.

[120] On February 17, 2025, Griner cancelled a speaking engagement for a cannabis leadership summit at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, after a piece of duct tape with the words "Gay Baby Jail" written on it was found near her hotel room, which she perceived to be a threat.

[123][124] On April 22, 2015, they were both arrested on charges of assault and disorderly conduct after police responded to a fight between the two in their suburban home in Phoenix, Arizona.

She was detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport after the Federal Customs Service found she was carrying vaporizer cartridges containing less than a gram of hash oil.

[145] On May 15, it was reported that the United States and Russia would consider a prisoner swap, with Russia exchanging Griner for arms dealer Viktor Bout, who had served 10 years of a 25-year federal prison sentence in the United States, on charges of conspiracy to kill American citizens and officials, delivery of anti-aircraft missiles, and providing aid to a terrorist organization.

[18][149] On November 17, Griner's lawyers said that she was transferred to IK-2, a female penal colony in the town of Yavas in the region of Mordovia[19] (previously, she had been held at an undisclosed location).