Recently freed Griner makes WNBA return following Russia incarceration

Griner, who was 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. "It felt good," Griner said in an on-court interview at the end of the first quarter. "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 comprehensive 94-71 loss. The result, however, was almost a footnote to an occasion that Phoenix coach Vanessa Nygaard described as a "day of joy."

"All last season I opened every press conference with how many days she is gone," Nygaard said in pre-game remarks. 

"And until the day when we got the news in the morning that she was on her way home, no one thought that it was going to happen.

"We did our jobs probably with less joy than professional athletes do. It was heavy every day. But it's great to have this game today. Today it's a day of joy.

"I'm just so glad she's home. It's a miracle that she's here and everyone going to see this game today is going to witness a miracle that she's returned from a Russian jail and is playing basketball in the WNBA again." 

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.

Shortly before