In her first eleven years in the WNBA, Brittney Griner had made a home out of her fans in the Valley. But not only was moving on from the Phoenix Mercury an emotional hurdle, but moving into the next step after a short one-year stay in Atlanta was another big question mark. If you were to ask the 6-ft-9 center, however, her landing in the freezing land of Connecticut has a deeper meaning.

“I’ll throw it out there. No one really wants to go to Connecticut,” she revealed on Sue Bird’s podcast yesterday while talking about what led her to join the Sun franchise. “But I wasn’t looking at it like where I would be. I was looking at the opportunity — what I’d be able to do being with a younger team, being a vet.

“They’re moving to Houston. I haven’t played in Houston in forever, that’s appeasing to me. I wanted to go somewhere, and I was like, instead of waiting till trying to get there once they get to Houston, I was like, ‘Well shoot, I’ll go and put in the work and do the grind and learn the system, learn the people.’ So that’s how I ended up here.”

With the Dream, Griner struggled to find her footing. Her usage reduced over the last season as she put up only 9.8 points and 5.2 rebounds in 20.8 minutes on the floor — all career lows. But when the Sun came calling, Griner saw an opportunity to take on a fresh challenge and step into a leadership role with one of the league’s youngest teams.

But what’s interesting is that despite being one of the basketball states in the US, housing the UConn Huskies, the biggest name in women’s NCAA basketball, Connecticut is not that appealing to many. UConn head coaches have said as much that the players going there go for only one reason: to play basketball. But moving from a thriving city of Phoenix to Uncasville wasn’t the biggest hurdle for Griner.

“The biggest adjustment for me is stepping into that veteran role, just being so vocal,” she said back in May. “I’m just used to just talking on the side, you know, with players and not demanding the floor and speaking.”

However, Griner wasn’t just thinking about Connecticut’s present; she was also thinking about its future.

The ongoing season will be the Sun’s final year in New England. They are all set to relocate to Houston in 2027 after the Houston Rockets owner, Tilman Fertitta, purchased the team for $300 million. So once the move becomes official, the franchise will revive the legendary Houston Comets name, bringing back one of the most iconic teams in WNBA history. And for Brittney Griner, that part mattered the most.

The franchise’s move to Texas represents something close to a homecoming for her. She was born and raised in Houston before building her college legacy at Baylor. So while the chance to mentor a young roster appealed to her, the opportunity to eventually play closer to home only made the decision easier. After all, she will be close to her family now.

Then throw in a lucrative seven-figure contract and the opportunity to help relaunch one of the most successful franchises in league history, and it’s easy to see why she moved again.

Still, for now, Brittney Griner’s focus remains on the present. She is currently averaging 11.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while once again playing a larger role on the court. Though the Sun is enduring a difficult season with just two wins through their first 17 games, the veteran center’s priority remains helping Connecticut turn things around before the franchise begins its next chapter in Houston.