Brittney Griner played her first professional basketball game in almost two years in the Phoenix Mercury‘s preseason game against the Los Angeles Sparks Friday night.

Griner, who was detained in Russia for most of last year but released in December, recorded 10 points on 2-for-5 shooting (she shot 6 of 8 from the free-throw line) with three rebounds and one block in her team's 90-71 loss to the Sparks.

The star forward, who helped lead the Mercury to the 2021 NBA Finals, said she played like “s–” but was excited to return to basketball.

“Like I ain’t guard anybody today,” Brittney Griner said. “First game back, you know? Preseason game. Game in LA will look totally different, do totally different things. But no, (Mercury) coach (Vanessa Nygaard) was telling me to give myself grace, but that’s hard. I was happy with some of the shots that I took, but the defense, I got to be better.”

Griner, who signed a 1-year, $165,100 contract to play with Phoenix in February, is back in the WNBA after a hellish experience.

Brittney Griner was detained in Russia in February for carrying vaporizer cartridges that contained hashish oil. She was sentenced to nine years in prison Aug. 4, 2022, but was later released in a 1-for-1 prisoner swap for arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Mercury coach Vanessa Nygaard, who is in her second season with the team, offered a more positive spin on Griner's performance than she did.

“I think she did well,” Nygaard said. “This is a person who has been off for more than a year and she’s been battling really hard, and I thought she did some really good stuff.

“I thought she did some great stuff, she’s super engaged, and it was a really joyful day for her and her family.”

Brittney Griner will receive a much greater ovation when she is introduced in the Mercury's home opener against the Chicago Sky on May 21, but her introduction in Friday's starting lineup still gave Nygaard “chills.”

“Just to see her back is an absolute miracle,” Nygaard said. “It was amazing.”

Griner said her first preseason game back was a day she would not take for granted.

“It was great to be back on the home court, back in front of the fans,” Griner said.

The Mercury will debut their 2023 season against the Sparks May 19. The game will be televised by ESPN.