30 greatest female athletes of all time
By Nick Villano
30. Brittany Griner
Basketball
Right now, Brittany Griner is known for her place in a very public political fight between the United States and Russia when she was arrested for traveling with medically prescribed hash oil. We don’t need to get into the charges or the trial because it’s not relevant to her athletic profile, but it did make her one of the most well-known female athletes.
Griner has become one of the most dominant basketball players in the world. She’s a nine-time WNBA All-Star, a two-time scoring champion, a two-time Peak Performer, and a two-time Defensive Player of the Year. Her height has always been one of her biggest attributes, standing at 6-foot-9. She’s one of the tallest WNBA players ever, and she knew exactly how to use her size to her advantage.
Strangely, she never won the WNBA MVP, but that could change. After taking a year to ramp up after spending a year away from the league fighting her charges, she’s now a free agent and can find her perfect fit. She’s still at the top of her game, and she can finally get over the hump (she was second in MVP voting twice).
On the international stage, Griner won gold medals in 2016 and 2021. She finished her career with an Olympic gold medal, a FIBA World Cup gold medal, a WNBA title, an NCAA title, four Euroleague titles, three Russian league titles, and a WBCA High School Player of the Year. Griner has been a champion everywhere.