UNCASVILLE — For the entirety of her WNBA career, Brittney Griner has only ever wanted to achieve one goal: to break the league’s all-time blocks record.
Another historic accomplishment for Griner, who won a title in 2014, amassed nine All-Star honors and two Defensive Player of the Year awards while playing on the Phoenix Mercury for over a decade. When she arrived in Uncasville ahead of the 2026 season, BG brought her elite game, leadership and that very achievable aspiration with her to the Sun. All she needed was 19 more blocks to make it happen.
And despite appearing in just 10 games so far this season due to injury, Griner has slowly but surely inched her way closer to the historic feat with each swat. She had two blocks in the loss against Portland in a 1-point loss that went down to the wire. Griner tallied just one block in the bounce-back win against Los Angeles on May 30, had three apiece in both losses against Atlanta and Chicago and two blocks against Indiana, as well as Washington and Toronto.
Finally, on June 22, Griner made history with a season-high four blocks along with 14 points and eight rebounds in the Sun’s epic 29-point win over the Sky. Her 878 career blocks have broken Margo Dydek‘s previous record of 877.
“It’s something that I’ve always wanted, the one record that I really care about and paid attention to, so for me to get it tonight, it just means everything,” Griner told the media after the game. “Blocking shots – I’m helping my team out on defense, keeping them out of the paint, challenging shots, it’s always made me a good defender when I try to lock in on that. I’m just excited to have it, and then [to] have it with this group as well.”
What made the moment even more special was getting to do it with her family sitting courtside. “Having my family here is big for me. Everything I do, I do for them. For [Bash] to see that sitting there courtside with my wife is amazing,” Griner shared during the postgame press conference while her son, Bash, sat on her lap. As she continued to speak, Bash even began clapping.
“I have a lot of emotions right now, but also getting it with the win here – we want to put on a good show for these fans, and I hope they know that we’re working hard every single day. I said it the other day, we’re working so hard to get that win.”
Griner’s first three blocks came early in the game, where she blocked Kamilla Cardoso just 1:30 into the first quarter. A few minutes later, she swatted away Gabriella Jaquez’s attempt at a driving layup. In the final 43 seconds of the first, Griner then blocked Cardoso again under the rim.
With a 20-point lead in the third quarter, Griner guarded Cardoso and kept her hands up, anticipating the moment. Cardoso hit a spin move and went up for the layup. Griner, who has a 7-3 wingspan, blocked her shot with 6:24 left in the third to set the league’s all-time record.
“I always love playing against big post players like myself, they’re always really good battles, they always test me. I’ve always liked that battle since [Cardoso] came to the league – she’s grown so much, too, from last year to this year, you can see the growth, so it makes it a really good matchup,” Griner said. “I don’t care who it was on, honestly, I was hawking everybody tonight, my lateral movement was really good, okay!”
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During a timeout, the Sun officially announced Griner’s achievement on the jumbotron as fans inside Mohegan Sun Arena gave her a standing ovation. With a smile on her face, Griner raised her fist in the air in triumph as her Sun teammates applauded her.
Guard Saniya Rivers then went and placed an imaginary crown on Griner’s head. With her name now in the history books, Griner has solidified her rightful place on the throne as the greatest shot-blocker in the history of the WNBA.
When asked what she would tell her younger self about shotblocking, Griner jokingly told The IX Basketball: “Stretch more and make it a little bit easier,” she said. “I’d tell myself [to] just stick with it. It’s gonna be high in the lows, but just stick with it, and just keep going, honestly.”
Griner isn’t the only one who achieved major milestones: Kennedy Burke finished with 8 points and has now tallied 1,000 points in her career, while Rivers hit the 500 points career mark before suffering an ankle injury that sidelined her for the rest of the game.
The win over the Sky was an all-around celebratory occasion for the Sun, who had yet to get a dub in front of their home crowd. For the first time this season, fans watched as the Sun played arguably their best – and most consistent – basketball until the final buzzer to solidify their largest win margin so far this season. It’s a major turnaround for Connecticut, which tied its worst start ever in franchise history this year after dropping five games for the second consecutive season in a row.
And yet, even throughout all of the losses, those who have been paying close attention can see a sense of resilience and camaraderie building within the team. It’s apparent in the little moments, too, like them giving each other pats on the back after frustrating losses during postgame press conferences. It’s in the way they hype each other up and celebrate each other’s successes, whether big or small.
Record aside, this is the same Sun team that lost by 31-points to the Liberty in the season-opener, but, in the past seven games, haven’t lost by less than 10 points.
There’s an old saying that it’s easy to lead when things are going well, but the true test is how you lead when things are going badly. That test is something the Sun have been facing all season-long, but it’s in those moments that they’ve grown the most.
“I think it started in practice the other day, we’ve had some uncomfortable practices, where it’s not really going your way and the guys [practice players] are definitely kicking our butts, and making it hard for us,” Griner told the media. “We’re going hard, we’re trying to get better. The wins weren’t coming the way we wanted them to come – [but] they came tonight and that’s because of that hard work that we’re putting in.”
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While there are still areas of improvement, as Meziane mentioned, it wasn’t a “perfect” game for the Sun, who need to improve on the offensive boards. But the team’s buy-in and willingness to keep trying is the exact kind of mindset that’s needed to turn things around.
Plus, it helps having a future Hall of Famer in the paint, too.
“It’s an honor for me to coach BG,” Meziane told The IX Basketball. “She proved that she’s one of her best, and she’s still one of the best in the world.”
