Australian basketball GOAT Lauren Jackson confirms retirement from sport, reflects on ‘epic ride’

It’s been five months since Australian basketball GOAT Lauren Jackson claimed a fifth Olympic medal. One of the greatest competitors in sporting history is finally ready to say “I’m done”, as she tells MICHAEL RANDALL.

Lauren Jackson has finally made public her decision to retire from professional basketball, five months after adding an Olympic bronze medal exclamation point to Australian basketball’s greatest career.

The GOAT confirmed she had a full right knee replacement in September, following the Opals’ stunning Paris triumph and, after taking stock during a well-earned Christmas break, she was finally ready to say the words “I’m done”.

Given Jackson’s remarkable record of overcoming monumental injury odds, no one was prepared to write her off.

Degenerative knees cut short a career that began way back in 1999, Jackson forced to retire from the sport in 2016. She returned in 2022, had simultaneous surgeries to repair a ruptured Achilles and lisfranc in 2023, then came back again to lead Southside to WNBL championship glory, before the Olympic joy.

Lauren Jackson says goodbye to basketball in 2022 before making an Olympic comeback. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images

But, asked whether she’d thought about playing again, the answer was emphatic.

“Oh no, I’m done,” Jackson confirmed.

“I am well and truly done, no more basketball for me.

“I don’t have it in me.”

The ultimate competitor, Jackson admitted she still had a few “maybe I could” moments.

But, while she still hasn’t “digested everything completely” she’s comfortable in saying her “epic ride” on the court is over.

“I’m still going through everything in my brain but I’m coming through it now,” the 43-year-old said.

“The last three years have been epic. The Olympic bronze medal, the WNBL championship, World Cup bronze, the NBL1 championship, to come back in three years and do all that, rupture my Achilles, have lisfranc surgery, I’ve proven so much to myself.

“The friendships I’ve made and what I was able to be a part of, I’ll never take it for granted.”

SECOND CAREER A NEW CHAPTER IN GOAT’S INCREDIBLE BOOK

In 2022, Jackson sent the basketball world into a frenzy when, six years after retirement, she suited up for her hometown Albury in NBL1. A WNBL return with Southside and an international comeback that ended with Opals FIBA World Cup bronze followed. But tragedy struck when her 2022-23 season was cut short by injury in front of a record WNBL crowd of 7681.

Even the GOAT, herself, thought major surgery on both legs might be too big a mountain to climb but a rehab process that began with a mission to “just stay fit for the kids”, Harry and Lenny, paved the way for another triumphant return.

Jackson would go on to lead the Flyers all the way to the 2024 WNBL title (her seventh), before a once unthinkable return to the international stage and a fifth Olympic medal.

Lauren Jackson with Val and Gerry Ryan.

“When I came back, I never expected to get to where it got to and I’ll forever be grateful for the people who helped me through it all,” she said.

One of those people is Jayco founder and Southside owner Gerry Ryan, a staunch supporter of the Opals and WNBL, who Jackson says made her second coming possible.

“As a single mother, to be able to play at that level (WNBL) again, Gerry really believed in me and supported me through all the highs and lows and I couldn’t have done it if it weren’t for him,” Jackson, who will be at Sunday’s Southside-Adelaide clash with her She Hoops team to pay tribute to Ryan, said.

JOB NOT DONE FOR WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMP

As an international great, whose No. 15 hangs in the rafters for the Seattle Storm who she led to two WNBA championships as a three-time MVP, Jackson is among the world’s most recognisable names in women’s basketball.

She’ll bring that profile and voice to the new WNBL as Tesla chair Robyn Denholm and NBL owner Larry Kestelman attempt to revive the ailing league.

Jackson celebrates being part of Southside Flyers’ WNBL title last year.

“I’m special adviser to the chair and CEO of the new WNBL ownership group and it’s been great to be able to be a part of the conversations that are helping form this new WNBL,” she said.

“The work Larry’s done in the NBL speaks for itself and Robyn with her due diligence and the work she’s done to get it to this point, it’s going to take the women’s league to a different place.

“When the opportunity came up to work with her, for me, it was a no-brainer.

“I’m excited and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the league because it’s finally going to get what it deserves and that’s special.”

Originally published as Australian basketball GOAT Lauren Jackson confirms retirement from sport, reflects on ‘epic ride’