Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner made her unofficial return to the basketball court on Friday during an exhibition game against the Los Angeles Sparks after missing all of last year while being detained in Russia on drug charges.

Afterward, she told reporters how grateful she was to be there.

"I didn't think I would be sitting right here," Griner said, per ESPN's Josh Weinfuss. "I didn't think I would be playing basketball this quickly. Even coming back, I didn't know how it was going to go getting back into it. I mean, I'm grateful to be here for sure. I'm not going to take today for granted, but it was a lot to take in."

The United States considered Griner to be wrongfully detained by Russian authorities. She was detained for 294 days after being arrested in an airport outside Moscow on drug charges in March 2022. She was in the country to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg, which she had represented during WNBA offseasons from 2014 to 2022.

She pled guilty in July and was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison in August. Her appeal was denied, and she was transferred to a Russian penal colony in November.

The United States federal government negotiated her return home in December after agreeing to a prisoner exchange with Russia for convicted arms trafficker Viktor Bout.

The eight-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist is now home and starting her 10th season with the Mercury. She had 10 points and three rebounds in 17 minutes against the Sparks to close Phoenix's two-game preseason.

It was her first action with Phoenix since the 2021 season, when Griner led the Mercury to the WNBA Finals. Phoenix fell to the Chicago Sky in the championship.

The Mercury will see the Sparks once again to kick off the regular season on Friday at 11 p.m. ET. ESPN will carry the game.