Mercury Coach Delivers Criticism To Brittney Griner After Loss To Sun

The Phoenix Mercury suffered an 83-72 loss to the Connecticut Sun on Monday, sparking a two-game losing streak. Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts spoke on one major issue the team has been dealing with, which has stemmed from veteran center Brittney Griner.

“I think last night or the night before, she had a double-double. First double-double with rebounds. What you’re asking is a good point. She only had two rebounds tonight. Obviously, we want her to get more; she wants to get more. So yeah, obviously, we need her to get more rebounds,” said Tibbetts via Desert Wave Media on X.

Griner has averaged 19.9 points and 7.4 rebounds through the Mercury’s 9-10 record. Despite being one of the tallest players in the league at 6’9″, Griner is outside of the Top 10 in terms of average rebounds per game.

May 19, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner (42) looks on from the seats as players warm up prior to the game against the Los Angeles Sparks at Crypto.com Arena.

© Jayne Kamin-Oncea–USA TODAY Sports

During the Mercury’s most recent loss to the Sun, Griner recorded 21 points and two rebounds. She was the tallest player on both rosters, but wasn’t able to make a significant impact on the glass.

Griner missed the beginning of the season after suffering a toe injury in the preseason. Phoenix won four of five games when Griner returned to the floor early in June, but they’ve since hit a wall.

In order to get out of their slump, Tibbetts outlined one major need from Griner, delivering gentle criticism to the WNBA veteran.