Brittney Griner marks first Mercury training camp practice - ESPN

PHOENIX — Brittney Griner knew throughout her time detained in Russia that Sunday, her return to the court as a member of the Phoenix Mercury, would come — at some point.

She just didn't know when.

Griner said after her first training camp practice that she had been convinced her next practice wouldn't come until she was let out of a Russian jail after her nine-year sentence had been completed, which, doing the quick math in front of a handful of cameras, Griner estimated to be Oct. 25, 2030.

«If it was the full nine, I think that would've been my release date,» Griner said. «Would've been a lot different. I don't know if I would've been on the court at that point. But, yeah, I just kind of prepared myself for the long haul, honestly. You never know. But, when it came quickly, I was really happy and I knew I couldn't wait to get back on the court.»

That happened late Sunday morning, and after the two-hour workout, Griner said she felt «so good» but understood there are still challenges, both mental and physical, that she'll have to navigate during her leadup to the regular season, which begins in about three weeks.

«It's everything that I wanted it to be, just finding my groove, just getting back into it,» Griner said.

Sunday was the culmination of a 100-day plan to prepare Griner for her first practice, said coach Vanessa Nygaard, who added that Griner had been progressing throughout the offseason.

«She was super diligent in that work and she was able to go fully through practice today, so we'll continue to just push her and I think it's as-she-can-tolerate, but she did it phenomenally,» Nygaard said.

The last time Griner, 32, took the court as a member of the Mercury was on Oct. 17, 2021, when they lost the WNBA Finals