(Photo credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images)

The Phoenix Mercury will welcome back franchise legend Brittney Griner when they host the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday.

Griner, a nine-time All-Star in 11 seasons with the Mercury, joined the Dream as a free agent in both teams' remake, moves that have led both into the upper half of the WNBA.

The Mercury (15-7) are third in the league with offseason additions Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally leading the way.

Griner, along with fellow newcomer Brionna Jones and holdover Allisha Gray, is trying to help the Dream (13-10) get past the first round in the playoffs for the first time since 2018. They were swept in first-round series in 2023 and 2024.

'What's most exciting is, we haven't even reached our ceiling yet,' said Jones, who had 11 points in the WNBA All-Star Game. 'We've shown we can compete with the top of the league.'

The Dream suffered an 87-72 loss at the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday, with Gray scoring 24 points. They are 4-6 in their past 10 games.

While not the dominating factor she was in Phoenix, Griner is averaging 10.2 points and 5.7 rebounds. She had her first double-double of the season July 13 with 10 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to the New York Liberty.

'I'm a little hard on myself,' Griner said. 'I feel like [I] definitely could have been better, but turning around now.'

All-Star guards Gray (18.6 points) and Rhyne Howard (16.5) lead the Dream in scoring. Gray had 18 points and a game-high five 3-pointers in the All-Star Game. Howard will miss the game Wednesday because of a left-knee injury.

The Mercury will play their first game after the All-Star break. Their most recent game was a 79-66 road loss to the Minnesota Lynx on July 16, their third loss in six games after a six-game winning streak.

Thomas, averaging 15.2 points per game, leads the league with an average of 9.5 assists.

'People gonna stop disrespecting [Thomas] for real,' said Natasha Mack, who had a season-high 13 rebounds at Minnesota. 'That's MVP. You all think MVP is just shooting threes? No, it's helping your team get better, and she does that every single way.'

The Mercury have played the past three games without starters Sabally (19.1 points per game) and Kahleah Copper (16.7) but both returned to practice Monday. The team also has been buoyed by the return of another franchise favorite, DeWanna Bonner, who signed as free agent on July 8.

She was part of Mercury teams that won the WNBA title in her rookie season in 2009 as well as 2014.

Bonner had 22 points and 11 rebounds in a 78-77 victory against Golden State on July 14 and had 11 points in her first start with Phoenix this season against the Lynx.

--Field Level Media