Australian basketball great Lauren Jackson reveals serious knee surgery

Australian basketball icon Lauren Jackson may have played her final game, after revealing she has undergone surgery since the Olympics.

There are fears Lauren Jackson has played her last game of basketball with the Opals legend revealing yet another knee surgery in the wake of the Paris Olympic Games bronze medal.

Jackson posted to Instagram late on Wednesday night a screenshot of her leg from a hospital bed with surgical wounds indicating she has had serious knee surgery with the caption “It’s been wild” with a love heart emoji.

Jackson confirmed immediately after the Paris bronze medal performance by the Opals that her international career was certainly over, but this latest serious surgery means she again faces another long road to recovery to return to the court.

The WNBL season is due to commence with preseason matches next week at the inaugural Hoopsfest in Perth and it is understood she is likely to miss the entire season.

Jackson has not made any official statement about her long term plans in domestic basketball and given her ability to recover from serious injuries, such as the torn Achilles from the WNBL grand final to play at the Olympic Games, it would be presumptuous to assume one of the greats of the game won’t come back at all even though she’d be 44 by next season.

Lauren Jackson revealed on Instagram that she had had knee surgery.

Jackson retired in 2016 due to persistent knee injuries and missed both the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021 Olympics before making a quiet comeback in lower league basketball in 2022.

Given her extraordinary talent it wasn’t long until she was back in the WNBL and on the radar for the Opals as she helped the team at the Olympic Games with her experience off the bench even in playing limited minutes throughout the tournament.

If this is the end for Jackson, oh what a career it has been for a player who will be remembered as the greatest basketball player produced by Australia.

Five Olympic Games, having debuted at Sydney 2000, with five medals is just the start of her string of accolades.

“It was amazing. It’s so special,” she said after winning bronze in Paris.

“The girls were remarkable tonight, especially under pressure down the stretch. I could never dream of this, honestly I couldn’t.

“Five Olympics and five medals. It’s crazy. The second part of my career has been crazy, the last three years what I have achieved personally and then with this team, it’s been remarkable. I could never have imagined it in my wildest dreams.”

Lauren Jackson confirmed her international retirement after the Paris Olympics. Picture: Adam Head

She also boasts a 2006 World Cup gold and Commonwealth Games gold in the same year.

In the WNBA Jackson is a dual championship winner, triple MVP winner, finals MVP, seven-time first team recipient and seven-time All Star.

She is also a three-time EuroLeague champion, dual Russian league champion, Korean League MVP and seven-time WNBL champion, four-time WNBL MVP and four-time WNBL Grand Final MVP.

Jackson has been inducted into the Australian basketball Hall of Fame (2019), Women’s basketball Hall of Fame (2020), and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer (2021).

The girl from Albury became a global giant of the sport – revered by foreign and domestic stars of the game.

“I think Lauren’s name is synonymous with success with basketball and I think she just brings a lot of experience to our team, whether she’s on the floor or not,” Australia’s 2024 Olympic hero Ezi Magbegor said in Paris.

“She is greatness to us, so to be able to play with her and experience this with her is a real honour to me.”

Originally published as Australian basketball great Lauren Jackson reveals serious knee surgery