BEIJING (AFP) - US women's basketball star Brittney Griner was attacked by a man with a knife after an evening training session with her Chinese team, but downplayed the incident saying she received "a little scratch".

The 2.03m-tall player said on her Instagram account that the man attacked her and three team-mates as they got on the team bus on Monday evening.

"First let me say I'm OK," the Beijing Great Wall player said on the photo-sharing service on Tuesday.

"Got a little scratch and my team-mates walk away unharmed," Griner said, adding "I'm ready to get out of this city we are visiting", without saying where the attack took place.

Griner, who weighs more than 90kg and claims on her website to have a "wing span of seven feet four inches (2.23m)", returned to action on Tuesday evening following the attack, scoring 19 points to help Beijing to a 51-42 victory over Liaoning Hengye.

A report by Xinhua Wednesday described the attacker as "drunk" and said he was "immediately controlled by security staff".

The two-time Women's NBA All-Star plays for Phoenix Mercury in the United States and is openly gay.