Brittney Griner Becomes the WNBA’s All-Time Leader with the Most Blocks in League History

Brittney Griner breaks WNBA blocks record, making history with her wife and son watching courtside!

Brittney Griner made WNBA history Monday night in the way that has defined much of her career.

The Connecticut Sun center broke the league’s career blocks record when she rejected Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso with 6:24 left in the third quarter. It was the 878th block of Griner’s career, moving her past Margo Dydek for first place in WNBA history.

The milestone came in Connecticut’s 92-63 win over Chicago, just the Sun’s third victory of the season. Griner finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and four blocks as Connecticut improved to 3-15.

“I’m super excited,” Griner told NBC Sports Boston after the game. “It’s like the one record I literally have been thinking about trying… chasing my whole career, so to get that tonight, I was very happy. Very happy.”

Griner, who is 6-foot-9, has long been one of the league’s most dominant defenders. She has led the WNBA in blocks eight times, matching Dydek, and has made rim protection one of the clearest signatures of her game.

“It’s something that I’ve always went after, the one record that I really cared about and paid attention to,” Griner said. “Blocking shots, I’m helping my team out on defense, keeping them out of the paint, challenging shots, so it’s always made me a good defender when I try to lock in on that.”

Dydek set the previous record in 323 games across an 11-year career. Griner passed her in her 364th game after missing the entire 2022 season while detained in Russia. She returned to the WNBA in 2023, made the All-Star team in consecutive seasons and continued adding to a career that already includes a WNBA championship, Olympic gold medals and Defensive Player of the Year honors.

The postgame scene gave the record another layer. Griner spoke after the game while holding her son, Bash Raymond Griner, whom she shares with her wife, Cherelle Griner. Griner has said she wants Bash to call her “Pops,” a name she clarified shortly after his birth when an interviewer referred to her as a mom. Bash also sat in her arms during the postgame press conference, clapping his hands as Griner talked about the moment.

“And then for him to see that, sitting there courtside with my wife, was amazing,” Griner said. “I have a lot of emotions right now.”

For queer fans who have watched Griner’s career unfold in public, that image carried its own weight. A Black queer parent broke one of the league’s major records, then sat at the microphone with her son in her lap and her wife part of the story she wanted to tell.

This season has brought another transition for Griner. She signed with Connecticut after playing the 2025 season with the Atlanta Dream. The Sun are near the bottom of the standings, and this is their final season in Connecticut before the franchise relocates to Houston, Griner’s hometown, and rebrands as the Comets.

Even in a difficult season, Griner found one of the biggest individual wins of her career.

Bash and Griner Photo: Instagram/ Atlanta Dream

The family moment also fits a larger WNBA story. The league has long made room for queer players, mothers and families in ways that remain rare across much of professional sports. Children grow up around the game, around practices, travel, arenas and postgame interviews. On Monday, Bash was there as his mother became the league’s career blocks leader.

Griner said the win made the night better because Connecticut wanted to give its fans something to celebrate.

“We want to put on a good show for these fans,” Griner said. “I hope they know that we’re working hard every single day.”

For the Sun, the win was one of three in a hard season. For Griner, it was a career marker years in the making.

The record book will show that she passed Dydek with 878 blocks. The box score will show four blocks, 14 points and eight rebounds. The postgame image will show something else: Griner holding Bash after one of the biggest nights of her career, still building a life and a legacy in full view.

 

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