She survived Russian prison to return to basketball

Brittney Griner made an emotional return to women's basketball on Friday, playing her first competitive game in nearly two years following her incarceration in Russia.

Griner, released by Russia as part of a prisoner swap last year, made her first appearance in a WNBA game in 579 days as the Phoenix Mercury faced the Los Angeles Sparks in a season opener in California.

US Vice President Kamala Harris was among the well-wishers at the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles as the WNBA superstar finally returned to action.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist made an instant impression on her return, winning the tip-off and scoring four points as the Mercury jumped into an early 7-0 lead. Brittney has been through a lot but now she's just happy she gets tp play again.

"It felt good. It felt real good. It felt like the last time I played." 

Griner eventually finished with 18 points and six rebounds but could not prevent Phoenix from slumping to a 94-71 loss. The result, however, was almost a footnote to an occasion that Phoenix coach Vanessa Nygaard described as a "day of joy."

Celebrities at courtside on Friday included tennis legend Billie Jean King, Los Angeles Lakers icon Earvin "Magic" Johnson and current Lakers head coach Darvin Ham.

WNBA players union chief and Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike thanked Harris and the Biden administration for helping to secure Griner's release.

"Tonight is a game but we're also celebrating the return of one of our own."

Griner, 32, a WNBA champion and LGBTQ trailblazer, was arrested on drug charges at a Moscow airport in February 2022 against a backdrop of soaring tensions over Ukraine. At the time of her arrest, Griner had been playing for a professional team in Russia, as a number of WNBA players do in the off-season. She was accused of possessing vape cartridges with a small quantity of cannabis oil and sentenced in August to nine years in prison.

She pleaded guilty to the charges, but said she did not intend to break the law or use the banned substance in Russia.

Griner was eventually released as part of a deal that saw her swapped for notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout -- known as the "Merchant of Death" -- in December.

Phoenix coach Nygaard, meanwhile, said she hoped her team would benefit from the feel-good factor surrounding Griner's return.

"We went around every city last year and B.G. was the story. This year it will be a story of joy, and love and happiness. So that positive energy will probably help our team and be less of a distraction. We brought back this woman, this Black, gay woman from a Russian jail, and America did that because they valued her. Just to be part of a group that values people at that level, it makes me very proud to be an American. I see B.G. and I see hope and I see the future."