Opals veteran Lauren Jackson says Paris Olympics is not an option in 2024

Opals legend Lauren Jackson is raring to go for the upcoming WNBL season, but will it extend further to a final farewell for the national team in Paris?

Australian basketball legend Lauren Jackson says she is fitter than ever before her WNBL comeback from serious injuries but another Olympic campaign with the Opals is “not part of my plan.”

Jackson will make her return to the court for the Southside Flyers this season after recovering from major operations to a left-foot Lisfranc fracture and right-foot achilles tendon.

She will be ready to play for the Flyers in round 1 against cross-town rivals the Melbourne Boomers on November 4 but initially expects to be on limited minutes.

“I’m really excited,” Jackson, 42, said. “This time last year I was in a world of pain after the World Cup with injuries and then I broke my foot pretty quickly after the season started.

“I have been through a bit of rehab the last six to eight months but I feel good.

“Physically, I am probably fitter than I have ever been … just in terms of the training and the work I have put in. I have probably put in more than I ever have.

“I will play in round 1. I don’t know how many minutes I will be getting but I will be playing.”

The basketball great will not feature at the Paris Olympics. Picture: Richard Dobson

Her comeback has sparked inevitable questions about an Olympic swan song in Paris next year but Jackson said she would put her young family first.

“It’s not part of my plan,’’ she said. “To play down here it came down to whether I could get my kids down here in Melbourne or not and have them with me every day. I managed to do that.

“If I signed up to another Australian (campaign), first of all I’m probably not good enough, secondly my kids would probably kill me.

“They would be very, very mad and I just don’t think they could handle being away from me for those periods of time.

“It’s a massive time commitment … I need to be with my kids. I don’t know how you make that work in a high-performance environment, unfortunately.”

Jackson expects to be eased into the season with the Flyers to ensure she will be fresh for the business end of the campaign.

“I wouldn’t imagine after the injuries that I have had that I would be starting this early but I will be playing and whatever that looks like I will be giving it a fair crack,” she said.

“I’m really excited to get out there. I did play 10 minutes in a warm-up game last week, which was awesome.

“I have to keep building. They are monitoring my load very closely so that come the end of the season I am still fit as a fiddle.

“I never thought I would be back here so the thought that I am playing again is pretty crazy after last year it was a bit traumatic.”

Alex Wilson (Bendigo Spirit), Lauren Jackson (Southside Flyers), Anneli Maley (Perth Lynx), Kristy Wallace (Melbourne Boomers), Jade Melbourne (Canberra Capitals), Sami Whitcomb (Townsville flyers), Tess Madgen (Sydney Flames) and Isobel Borlase (Adelaide Lightning). Pic: Michael Klein

Jackson is confident the Flyers have the squad to take out the WNBL championship after finishing runners-up last season.

“I don’t want to get ahead of myself here but I think we are going to win it,” she said.

“We have a great team. I’m just glad I get to play a role in it.

“I think all the girls feel a little bit like it did end in a way that we weren’t really happy with, a bit of unrelenting pain there.”

Jackson’s return is the big news before the WNBL season starts but there have been other big off-season moves.

Cayla George, the newly crowned WNBA championship winner with the LA Vegas Aces, has joined the Sydney Flames along with Opals captain Tess Madgen, while 2021-22 league MVP Anneli Maley will play for the Perth Lynx.

Madgen is excited to have a fresh start in Sydney after four seasons with the Boomers.

“I needed a change,” Madgen said. “I have settled into Sydney life well. The team is amazing and having a lot of fun on the court.

“I needed a new environment to keep growing as a player. I wouldn’t keep playing if I didn’t think that I could get better.”

Madgen and Maley believe defending champion the Townsville Fire will have a target on its back this season.

Originally published as Opals veteran Lauren Jackson says Paris Olympics is not an option in 2024