Brittney Griner makes first Mercury training camp practice appearance: All you need to know

Brittney Griner seems ready to return to basketball. The 32-year-old superstar attended her first practice on Sunday and appears to be progressing toward the next WNBA season.

The Phoenix Mercury center was detained in Russia in 2022 and sentenced to nine years in prison. During her detention, she missed the entire season. However, the basketball star was released in December and plans on playing next season.

Griner had one of the best years of her career in her last season. She averaged 20.5 points and a career-high 9.5 rebounds per game. While she may be a bit rusty, Mercury fans expect her to dominate the basketball court once again.

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Brittney Griner felt good after a Phoenix Mercury practice on Sunday

Brittney Griner worked out for two hours on Sunday and felt good. She is not 100% ready for her return yet, but is progressing toward it. Griner understands that there are some physical and mental obstacles she'll have to navigate before the season starts.

Vanessa Nygaard, the Phoenix Mercury coach, said that Griner's Sunday practice was the culmination of a 100-day plan to prepare the star for next season. Even before practice, the athlete worked on returning to the floor.

Nygaard also said that Griner has handled her practice phenomenally.

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"It's everything that I wanted it to be, just finding my groove, just getting back into it," Griner said after Sunday's practice.

Griner's return to action is quite inspirational. It's been a year and a half since she appeared in a WNBA game, which is why her return isn't going to be easy.

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The Phoenix Mercury star last played on Oct. 27, 2021 against the Chicago Sky in Game 4 of the 2021 WNBA Finals. Griner finished the game with 28 points on 12-for-19 shooting, but this wasn't enough to beat Chicago, who ended up winning the title.

Giner and her team lost the 2021 WNBA Finals in four games (Image via Getty Images)

The Mercury star said that she'd love to be "Finals BG" once again. But that is not the case and she'll have to keep working hard to get back to where she was in late 2021.

"But I feel like I'm at a good spot to start a training camp though for sure," Griner added.

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The two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year still has to work on her conditioning. She said that she felt like a rookie during training camp, since she missed out on a lot during her detention in Russia.

The Mercury will open the regular season with a matchup against the LA Sparks on May 19.