Cayla George prepares to suit up for first game of her latest stint back home with Cairns Dolphins
WNBA champion and accomplished Australian basketballer Cayla George has lifted the lid on plans for the future following her exit from the Sydney Flames. Full details here.
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WNBA champion and accomplished Australian basketballer Cayla George will aim to play on through to next year’s FIBA World Cup and says she will likely sign with another WNBL franchise.
George split with the Sydney Flames at the end of April following two-years at the club and has now signed with NBL1 North team Cairns Dolphins.
The 36-year-old Paris bronze medallist has no plans on retiring from professional basketball, revealing her desire to play for Australia again.
The future
Any time an athlete - especially a woman - hits their mid-30s, the questions start popping up about when they’ll be hanging them up to move on to something different.
But George says she has no intentions of taking her foot off the pedal while she believes she can perform at a high level.
“I’ll keep playing mate that’s for sure, I’ve got Opals commitments later this year with the Asia Cup, and I’ll probably sign with another WNBL team at some point. We’ve got the World Cup next year,” she said.
“Nothing changes for me, with my age the narrative can be that ‘she must be retiring soon’ but that narrative has been around since I turned 30 and here I am still playing.
“It’s been ‘when is she having another baby, when is she retiring’ but like right now I’m still playing well and still enjoying it, so why would I not continue to do so?
“My body acts a bit old sometimes, it takes me a bit longer to warm up.
“I want to embrace the community aspect once basketball does wind down, and I have those plans in place. But right now I want to enjoy doing what I love.”
George has four seasons under her belt in Far North Queensland, dating all the way back to 2011, with her most recent stint being in 2022, but despite playing in Cairns only sporadically, she still calls the town home.
A family affair
George has four seasons under her belt in Far North Queensland, dating all the way back to 2011, with her most recent stint being in 2022.
She has only played in Cairns sporadically but she still calls the town home.
George’s connections with Cairns basketball run deep. Diehard Cairns fans will know her dad is the side’s No.1 fan, donning his Dolphins suit as their team mascot.
“I live here, this is my home base for almost 15 years. My husband’s from here, we have a home here, so it all just makes sense,” she said.
“After the WNBL season finished up I headed over to Taiwan for a month and winning a championship over there, I did the same thing last year.
“But coming back, I’d already had discussions with (the Dolphins) before I went to Taiwan.”
Cayla George was born Cayla Francis, a fact which makes the familial connection a little more clear once you see her younger sister’s name on the roster.
“I wanted to play with my little sister Andrianna Francis before she goes off to college. If she’s there for four or five years I’ll be over 40 by then so who knows if I’ll still be playing,” he said.
“She’s not even turned 18 yet so she’s got her whole career ahead of her, with a big chance to go to college and to great things with her career.
“If I can be on court with her, mentor and nurture her along with all the other great young females we’ve got in the Dolphins squad.
My step-mum is the team manager, and my dad is the team mascot, so I thought it would be a proper family affair if I came home and played with my little sister for the first time.”
Incredibly, family ties are a common theme among the entire Dolphins squad, with two other sets of sisters set to join Cayla and Adrianna on court.
“We’ve got three sets of sisters which is amazing, I don’t know if that’s ever happened before, we’ve got the three Evans sisters (Summah, Saje and Teyla) and the two Bonds (Teyahna and Taryn) and then Andrianna and myself as the Francis sisters,” George said.
“It’s really exciting, and that’s a big reason why I was enticed to come back. I’ve played with a few of the younger girls like Teyahna when I was last here in 2022.
“I love being home in Cairns, it was a no-brainer really. Even at my ripe old age of 36 I like to be doing things, and I still feel like I’m playing at a pretty high level.
“Why would I sit and watch when I could be out there playing with all these amazing athletes that Cairns has in the line-up.”
No place like home
George has been travelling across the world pursuing the highs and lows of a professional basketball career, and she said now is an ideal time to come back to her “base” and play in front of the town she calls home.
“I’m home now, and the club has always been great in looking after me. I love Cairns, I’m married to an Island man, I love it hear in North Queensland where everything is just a bit slower paced,” she said.
“We’re always away, whether it’s in Sydney or Taiwan or America when we won a championship with Las Vegas, but we’ve always used Cairns as a base.
“So right now we’re in our base, and it feels right, and I’ve got a great opportunity to put the young players we have here under my wing.”
The passionate teacher
Right from the outset, Cairns basketball fans that turn out to support their local team can expect to see a mix of both passion and energy blended with wisdom and instruction from a seasoned pro with four WNBL championships plus a WNBA ring under her belt.
“I don’t claim to know everything, but I have a lot of experience having been a professional for two decades, so I have a lot to share and I want to share it,” she said.
“I have a great deal of respect for the game and I want to impart that on the next generation and make sure they can make the most out of their game and play it the right way.”
George is aware of the passion she portrays in her on court demeanour, and it's something she leans into and wants to showcase.
“I’m really passionate, you’ll see me using my hands to point people in the right spot a lot, I want to be a leader,” she said.
“I like to be aggressive and look to score, but I also want to pass and get my teammates involved, and make sure my teammates are moving into the right positions.
“But ultimately I just want to do what needs to be done to win the game, I don’t feel like I have to drop a 50-piece every night in order to contribute to doing that.
“I like to get hyped for my teammates and I like my teammates to get hyped, that’s the kind of culture I want to build.
“I like to instil that into whatever team I’m a part of, I hope the spectators love seeing what we’re about and getting around us.
“We’re representing the Cairns community at the end of the day so we want to do them proud.”
George’s first game of her fresh stint with the Dolphins will be Saturday when they take on Brisbane Capitals at Trinity Ford Stadium at 5.30pm.
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