The GOAT opens up: Career fears, Paris hopes, Hall of Fame induction and a bright Opals future
Lauren Jackson ‘was never meant to play again’ after the 2022 World Cup, now a fifth Olympics is on her radar. The GOAT opens up to MATT LOGUE on her Paris hopes, career fears, Hall of Fame and the Opals bright future.
Women's Basketball
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Lauren Jackson didn’t think she’d play for Australia again, so she is yet to contemplate the prospect of a record fifth Olympics in Paris.
Instead, Jackson wants to live in the moment and soak up each precious minute in the green and gold, knowing just how close she came to hanging up the international sneakers after the 2022 World Cup in Sydney.
The now 43-year-old thought her career was over when she tore her right Achilles playing for the Southside Flyers in early 2023.
It’s why the reality of a fifth Games is yet to sink in for the GOAT of Australian basketball.
“Honestly, I’ve had so much to go through mentally because I was never, ever getting to this point,” Jackson said on the eve of her first Opals Olympic warm-up game on home soil since prior to the 2012 London Games.
“Even after I got injured in the WNBL last year, I was never meant to play again.
“There has been so much that has happened – and looking too far ahead has always been a problem for me.”
In the past, Jackson has let forward thinking plague her career aspirations. She’d get carried away in the moment, only to have injury bring her goals crashing back down.
So, when it came to daring to dream about donning the green and gold in Paris, Jackson took a cautious day-by-by approach.
“Because it has been too scary to look too far ahead,” she said.
“It’s the only way I’ve been able to do it.
“In my mind I was like, ‘make your mind up in the due process’ but in case you do want to go to another Olympics I just kept training.
“Like go to the gym today, bit by bit, and it has been that way the whole time.
“So if I make it, I’m not really doing it to (become a five-time Olympian).
“I haven’t thought about it like that. It has more been about getting here and the process I’ve gone through to get my body and mind right and to this point.”
In a wide-ranging and raw interview, Jackson opens up about the Opals’ World Cup winning Hall Of Fame induction, the potential of Paris, the historic WNBL sale and the bright future for the Opals.
PARIS PREPARATIONS ON TRACK
Jackson knows she isn’t the WNBA championship-winning force of yesteryear, but she is primed to produce in Paris if selected.
The humble and hardworking great from Albury personifies what it means to be an Opal – and in that vein she is prepared to do whatever it takes to help the Australian women return to the Olympic podium.
“For me personally I’m going to get out there and do what I do,” she said.
“I want to play good defence. That is what I really want to focus on.
“My role is going to be really different, if I make the team.
“I want to lead the girls and give confidence to them where I can and just be me.”
The Opals are in a unique position heading into the Paris Games with a large chunk of the squad, including coach Sandy Brondello, still playing in the WNBA.
It means only a few Olympic positions are up for grabs from the 12-player warm-up squad to play two games against a full-strength China side in Melbourne’s John Cain Arena on Wednesday and Friday.
This high-stakes scenario has every Opals player on the tips of their toes, according to Jackson.
“It’s a stressful time for all of us,” she said.
“The girls are vying for their spot on an Olympic team and it’s hard, there is a lot of pressure.
“The majority of our team is overseas in the WNBA. China will have their full team, so for us it will be about getting out there and putting our best foot forward.
“It’s a really difficult situation to be in because we know at the end of this week there are going to be some really difficult decisions.”
FITTING HALL OF FAME HONOUR
You can feel the pride beaming down the phone line when Jackson is asked about the looming Basketball Australia Hall of Fame induction for the 2006 World Cup-winning Opals.
A star-studded side featuring generational talents, including Penny Taylor, Erin Philips and Kristi Harrower, put the hoops world on notice after going through the Cup in Brazil undefeated to secure a historic gold medal.
Taylor was named tournament MVP, while Jackson lead the Cup in points with 21.3 points per game.
Some of the greatest names of the game will be inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame on July 5.
— Basketball Australia (@BasketballAus) July 1, 2024
DETAILS: https://t.co/XxvWKW3JSW#WeAreBasketballpic.twitter.com/DVy2PuDgL2
On Friday, the ’06 Opals will become the first team inducted into Aussie hoops’ most prestigious group.
Jackson says it’s a long, overdue recognition of not only one of the most successful teams in basketball, but in women’s sport in Australia.
“Oh, you know, I think the Opals are sometimes overlooked,” she said.
“Particularly how good we were from 1996 through to the last couple of World Cup medals.
“I was at an Olympic event the other night and nothing was mentioned about the Opals, but they mentioned the Boomers from Tokyo and the bronze medal when they are talking about the history of the Olympics.
“Looking back over the years, you’d have to say the Opals have led the way with those five medals.
“We have to be one of, if not the most successful Olympic team for Australia.
“So, this induction does mean a lot to the ’06 team, but it’s also about the recognition for the entire program.”
Jackson will never forget the joyful scenes at full-time after winning the World Cup gold medal in Brazil.
She was engulfed with an array of emotions, but she had one priority after seeing legendary Australian Opals couple Tom and Robyn Maher sitting in the stands.
“The first thing I did was run up into the crowd because Robyn and Tom were there,” she said.
“I could see how much the gold medal meant to them. Tom was my first Australian coach and the first Aussie coach to win an Olympic basketball medal in Atlanta in 1996 and Robyn was my first captain.
“So, to have them there in the stands was such a beautiful thing to be able to share that moment. Other administrators like Lorraine Landon and Bob Elphinston, who was the president of FIBA, were also there.
“It was so beautiful to be able to share that moment with people who have had such an important role to play in the history of women’s basketball in Australia.”
Some of Jackson’s closest friendships were formed via the ’06 Opals World Cup side, including her tight bond with point guard Kristi Harrower.
She believes Harrower, a current national team assistant, is destined to become the next head coach of the Opals.
“Kristi is probably going to coach Australia soon because she has got the best brain,” Jackson said.
“I’ve been in tournaments where she literally just took over and said, ‘no, this is what we are running’.
“If you had to pinpoint one person out of all those teams that was going to go on and coach at a high level, it would be her because she knows basketball.”
Uniting Australian basketball 🙌
— NBL (@NBL) June 26, 2024
The Wollemi Capital Group Syndicate and the NBL have formed a consortium to acquire a majority interest in the @WNBL following the 2024/25 season ðŸ€
Read more: https://t.co/mhcMiEGOjNpic.twitter.com/l4eqKO6SQu
JACKSON BACKS TESLA BOSS TO GROW WNBL
The future of the exposure-starved WNBL has finally been secured via a majority stake given to a consortium featuring NBL boss Larry Kestelman and Australia’s Tesla chair and Kings/Flames majority owner Robyn Denholm.
Jackson concedes it’s “crazy” it has taken 40-plus years for Australia’s oldest women’s elite sporting competition to reach the “next level”, but she is pumped about the direction the pioneering league can take under Denholm.
“The WNBL sale is amazing, especially having someone like Robyn involved, who is so committed to women’s sport and basketball,” she said.
“I think it’s a really special time for women’s basketball and I’m excited to see where they take the league and it can only grow from here.
“With someone like Robyn leading the charge I’m so thankful and excited.
“I can’t wait to see where the league goes and I’m on board and there to support in any way.”
OPALS’ BRIGHT FUTURE
Jackson doesn’t like looking too far ahead, but she can’t help but feel energised about the future of the Opals program.
This optimism reached fever pitch over the weekend watching the Under 18s Gems win their second straight Asia Cup gold medal in China.
Saffron Shiels was ready for the spotlight 🌟
— NextGen Hoops (@NextGenHoops) June 30, 2024
A masterclass performance from Australia's star wing set the tempo in a win that clinched the Gems' second consecutive title in the #U18AsiaCup 🇦🇺
📊 vs. CHN: 31 PTS | 15 REB | 6 AST | 43 EFF pic.twitter.com/QsmrT22R4b
Rising forward Saffron Shiels excelled in the gold medal game against China, dropping 31 points and adding 15 rebounds and 6 assists. Jackson also noticed emerging big Lara Somfai starred throughout the tournament.
“There are some good kids coming through,” Jackson said.
“Then when you look at someone like Ezi (Magbegor) and where she is at now and Isobel Borlase and Jade (Melbourne).
“We’ve got fantastic athletes who are going to lead the Opals into the next eight to 12 years who can really take over.
“It’s so good to see.”
OPALS’ PARIS OLYMPIC WARM-UP GAMES:
Wednesday, July 3: Opals vs China at John Cain Arena from 7.30pm (AEST)
Friday, July 5: Opals vs China at John Cain Arena from 7.30pm (AEST)
Jackson crowns comeback with fifth Olympic selection
Code Sports understands Lauren Jackson has been selected in the Opals’ Paris squad for the her fifth Olympic Games.
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