Kim Mulkey comments on Brittany Griner's jersey retirement

On Sunday evening, Brittany Griner will have her jersey retired by Baylor at the newly built Foster Pavilion in Waco, Texas. The former Baylor star played under Kim Mulkey in her four years and helped the Bears win a national title in 2012, capping a 40-0 season.

Mulkey left Baylor for LSU in 2021 after 20 years of excellence and on Thursday, she was asked of her thoughts on Griner getting her jersey retired this weekend.

“It’s awesome,” Mulkey said. “That’s awesome. I bet it’ll be a great environment.”

Mulkey remains one of the most talked about coaches in college basketball and Griner has been a national figure since her time at Baylor.

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Baylor press release: 

WACO, Texas — The Baylor women’s basketball program is set to retire former Baylor Bear Brittney Griner’s No. 42 jersey in a pregame ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 18, when the Bears host Texas Tech at 3 p.m. at Foster Pavilion. 

“I’m honored to return home to Baylor and celebrate where so much of my journey started,” Griner said. “I’m grateful to Coach Nicki (Collen) and the entire Baylor community and looking forward to the opportunity to be back on campus, spend time with the team and have my family beside me to share in this incredible moment. Sic ‘Em Bears.”

“We are excited to welcome Brittney back to Baylor and share this special day with her,” Baylor Vice President and Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades said. “There’s no doubt she is one of the most decorated student-athletes in Baylor athletics history and we’re thrilled the timing has worked out for all of us to celebrate and honor her. She always has been, and always will be, a significant member of the Baylor Family.”

The most decorated women’s basketball player in Baylor history, and one of the most accomplished collegiate players in the NCAA, Griner finished her collegiate career with 3,283 points and 1,305 rebounds. Griner was a two-time consensus National Player of the Year, and four-time All-Big 12 First Team and All-Defensive Team selection. She won the league’s Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honor in 2010, before sweeping the Player and Defensive Player of the Year Awards in 2011, 2012 and 2013. 

Griner finished her career as a three-time All-American by five different outlets and holds the conference record with 21 Big 12 Player of the Week honors. She recorded the first triple-double in Baylor women’s basketball history and holds the Big 12 record in points scored (3,283), field goals made (1,247), free throws made (787) and attempted (1,054), blocks (748). Additionally, she still holds the NCAA blocks record for a season (223) and career. She’s the only player in NCAA women’s basketball history to have over 2,000 career points and 500 career blocks. For her career, Griner scored in double figures in 146 of 148 games played, which is the second most in NCAA history. 

A native of Houston, Griner helped lead the Bears to a 40-0 record and the 2012 National Championship. She helped the Bears post a 135-15 record over her four-year career, which included the second national title in program history, a pair of Final Four appearances, six Big 12 Conference Championships and 40 consecutive Big 12 Conference regular-season wins to conclude her career. In league regular-season games, Griner helped lead the Bears to a 50-8 record over her four years.

Griner was selected as the first overall pick in the 2013 WNBA draft by the Phoenix Mercury where she’s spent the last 10 seasons. She’s a six-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist with Team USA. Griner completed her Bachelor of Science degree in education at Baylor in 2019. 

“We’re excited to have Brittney back on campus and honor her with the retirement of her jersey,” Baylor Coach Nicki Collen said. “I have been saying this since I arrived at Baylor that she deserves to have her jersey retired and I wanted to make sure that happened when the timing was right. With the opening of Foster Pavilion, and the WNBA offseason fitting into our season, this seemed like the right time to honor Brittney and welcome her back home. She is one of the best basketball players in Baylor’s history and we’re thrilled that the time has come to celebrate Brittney and all of her accomplishments.”

This will be the seventh Baylor women’s basketball jersey retired in its illustrious history, including Odyssey Sims, Melissa Jones, Nina Davis, Suzie Snider Eppers, Shelia Lambert and Sophia Young. 

Tickets are available for the game vs. Texas Tech, starting at $20. Fans can purchase tickets via BaylorBears.com/WBBvTech.

To stay up to date on all things Baylor women’s basketball, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorWBB.