The John R. Wooden Award will celebrate its 50th anniversary this season. Leading up to the awards ceremony on April 10, 2026, The Sporting Tribune, in partnership with the Wooden Award and the Los Angeles Athletic Club, will highlight past winners of the Wooden Award and Legends of Coaching Award.
A viral sensation, that’s what the world considered Brittney Griner to be from a young age. The Houston, Texas native measured a height of 6’8″ during her years at Nimitz, and with that advantage, she accomplished something unheard of: 113 career dunks in high school. Griner played an important role in leading Nimitz to the Texas 5A state title game, later earning her the title of McDonald’s All-American and becoming the number one recruit in 2009.
Advertisement
This launched his college career at Baylor University. His first season was just the beginning of his greatness. She accumulated 223 blocks, still the NCAA single-season record. Griner was also the first woman to dunk twice in an NCAA tournament and led Baylor to the Elite Eight in her first year on campus.
In 2012, Baylor won a historic 40-0 championship. It was the first in NCAA history and still remains one of the most dominant seasons of all time. The Bears beat 11 ranked teams that season, with Griner averaging 23.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 5.2 blocks throughout that season.
By the end of her career at Baylor, she finished with 3,283 points, 1,305 rebounds and 223 blocks, making her the all-time leading scorer in Big 12 history and second on the NCAA Division I all-time scoring list.
When the WNBA draft rolled around in 2013, Griner was the number one pick by the Phoenix Mercury. She is a two-time WNBA champion (2014, 2024), an eight-time WNBA All-Star, a two-time scoring champion, an eight-time blocks leader and the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (2014, 2015).
Advertisement
Internationally, Griner spent time playing in China and Russia, continuing to be a top scorer and defensive anchor for both sides. She is also a two-time Olympic gold medalist (2016, 2020), and is a key figure in Team USA’s world domination.
After an 11-year career with the Mercury, Griner now plays for the Atlanta Dream. Beyond basketball, Griner has also added another addition to his career, YouTube. Earlier this month, she announced the launch of her channel where she hopes to share a glimpse into her everyday world.
