Brittney Griner was the number one overall pick in the 2013 WNBA draft. She received 33 votes from the national panel of 39 sportswriters and broadcasters. The runner up, Kiah Stockes, came in with only two votes. Griner averaged a WNBA-record of 4.04 blocks per game this season, naming her the Defensive Player of the Year presented by Samsung. She is the first player to get this award in back-to-back seasons since Tamika Catchings in 2009 and 2010. She swatted 105 shots within 26 games, improving on her average of 3.79 blocks last season, when she set a WNBA record for a total of 129 blocks. Getting an average of 6.42 defensive rebounds per game she ranked second in the league.
Brittney is the sixth multiple winner of the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year presented by Samsung, blocked at least two shots in 23 games and five or more shots in 11 games. SHe set her seasonal high with nine blocks against the Lynx on August 30th, and averaged 5.6 blocks during her five game winning streak, starting on July 28th and going through August 7th. Not only can Brittney play defense but her offensive contributions of 15.1 points a game helped Mercury to a 20-14 record, making them the number 2 seed in the Western Conference for the 2015 Playoffs. SHe has been playing for three years and in all three years of her career she has been a selection for a WNBA All-Star. Being named the WNBA Defensive Play of the Year Griner received $5,000 and will get a specially designed trophy.
In just 87 career games with the Phoenix Mercury, Griner has a total of 315 blocked shots and became the franchise leader on August 9, passing Diana Taurasi who has 271 blocks in her 10-year Mercury career. Griner has 25 games with five or more blocks and 14 career games of six or more blocks. She has blocked four or more shots in 45 of 87 career games. She has a career average of 3.6 blocks per game. The Phoenix defense also allowed the fourth-fewest points per game this season, just 72.3 points and held opponents to the third-lowest average of points in the paint at 30.0 points per game.
In addition to the WNBA single-game record for blocked shots in a game, Griner also now holds the WNBA single-season record for average blocks per game and the single-single season record for blocked shots in a season. The 6-foot-8 center dominated competition as her blocks per game average was greater than the average of six other WNBA teams. Her average was also nearly 2.0 blocks per game more than LaToya Sanders of Washington who finished second in the league with an average of 1.95 blocks per game. Griner totaled 105 blocks in just 26 games. Kiah Stokes of New York finished second in total blocks with 67 in 34 games.
Brittney is the sixth multiple winner of the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year presented by Samsung, blocked at least two shots in 23 games and five or more shots in 11 games. SHe set her seasonal high with nine blocks against the Lynx on August 30th, and averaged 5.6 blocks during her five game winning streak, starting on July 28th and going through August 7th. Not only can Brittney play defense but her offensive contributions of 15.1 points a game helped Mercury to a 20-14 record, making them the number 2 seed in the Western Conference for the 2015 Playoffs. SHe has been playing for three years and in all three years of her career she has been a selection for a WNBA All-Star. Being named the WNBA Defensive Play of the Year Griner received $5,000 and will get a specially designed trophy.
In just 87 career games with the Phoenix Mercury, Griner has a total of 315 blocked shots and became the franchise leader on August 9, passing Diana Taurasi who has 271 blocks in her 10-year Mercury career. Griner has 25 games with five or more blocks and 14 career games of six or more blocks. She has blocked four or more shots in 45 of 87 career games. She has a career average of 3.6 blocks per game. The Phoenix defense also allowed the fourth-fewest points per game this season, just 72.3 points and held opponents to the third-lowest average of points in the paint at 30.0 points per game.
In addition to the WNBA single-game record for blocked shots in a game, Griner also now holds the WNBA single-season record for average blocks per game and the single-single season record for blocked shots in a season. The 6-foot-8 center dominated competition as her blocks per game average was greater than the average of six other WNBA teams. Her average was also nearly 2.0 blocks per game more than LaToya Sanders of Washington who finished second in the league with an average of 1.95 blocks per game. Griner totaled 105 blocks in just 26 games. Kiah Stokes of New York finished second in total blocks with 67 in 34 games.