Griner has also been asked to pay a fine in the region of $16,300 (£13,175/€15,651).

The eight-time All-Star with Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) side Phoenix Mercury was arrested in February at an airport near Moscow, shortly before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, after guards found cannabis oil vape canisters in her luggage.

Griner, who clinched gold at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, was flying to Russia to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg of the Russian Premier League, for whom she she has played since 2014.  

The politically charged trial could lead to a potential prisoner exchange involving Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout, known as the "Merchant of Death".

US President Joe Biden has called the verdict "unacceptable" demanding Russia to release her "immediately".

Biden also said that he will continue to work to bring Griner and Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Russia on an espionage conviction, back home.

Earlier, Russian prosecutors had asked for a nine-and-a-half-year sentence for the basketball player but was reduced by Judge Anna Sotnikova stating her time in prison since February would count towards the sentence.   

Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges but has denied that she did knowingly broke the law and made one final appeal to the court for mercy.

"I want to apologise to my team-mates, my club, my fans and the city of (Yekaterinburg) for my mistake that I made and the embarrassment that I brought on them," she was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. 

"I want to also apologise to my parents, my siblings, the Phoenix Mercury organisation back at home, the amazing women of the WNBA, and my amazing spouse back at home.

"I made an honest mistake, and I hope in your ruling it does not end my life.

"I did not conspire or plan to commit this crime."

A few days ago, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had said that the Kremlin "will listen" to a prisoner-swap proposal. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had claimed that the the country has already sent Russia a "substantial proposal", as reported by CNN.

Meanwhile, her legal team had argued that cannabis is commonly used for medical purposes and that the canisters were trapped in her bag as she was packing in a hurry to leave for Russia.   

"We are not arguing that Brittney took it here as a medicine," said Alexander Boykov, defence attorney.

"We are still saying that she involuntarily brought it here because she was in a rush.

"The Russian public has to know, and the Russian court in the first place has to know, that it was not used for recreational purposes in the United States.

"It was prescribed by a doctor."