Lauren Jackson, once a fan of the Women’s World Cup, goes full circle
Whether it’s Australian basketball, the WNBA, or simply women’s basketball in general, the name Lauren Jackson has been synonymous to greatness.
Throughout her time as an athlete, the Aussie basketball luminary has went on to accomplish incredible feats in a Hall of Fame career that will go down as one of the best across any sport and in any generation.
Now 40 years old — 41 when the time the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup kicks off in Australia in September — and enjoying a post-hoops life with her two children, Jackson is just looking forward to being a fan when the international competition begins right at home.
“It’s just one of those moments where they just really support the green and gold. For us to have our Opals playing on home soil in front of the Australian fans, it’s going to be incredible. It’s going to be a great moment,” the native of Albury, New South Wales said.
“I can’t wait to just be a fan and watch it because I think Australia really supports its own and yeah, it will be a lot of fun to watch.”
The last time Australia hosted the Women’s Basketball World Cup was back in 1994, when Jackson was just 13 years old when she was still in school and in the formative years of beginning her journey towards hoops stardom.
“I remember back to when teams (were playing here). It was 1994. As a junior, that was like that biggest thing that happened for us. I just remember people, the fans going to the stadium and watching it, and talking about it, and from there, what brewed was just so incredible,” Jackson recalled during the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup draw held at the popular Sydney Harbour last March 3.
“I was fortunate enough to be a part of that. The legacy that is going to come out of that is just so important,” she added.
At the time, the Australian WNBL was in its second decade of existence, continuing to progress as one of the premier professional leagues in the country.
For Jackson and other youth athletes her age range to witness the spectacle at home, she says now, is an inspiring moment that hopefully the 2022 edition can replicate especially in an era where boundaries almost do not exist anymore while the world is brought closer and closer by technologies and other advancements.
“It’s so important. I just go back to my youth and what it meant to have (the World Cup) here and to see the players that we had playing and competing and the toughness and just the richness of the sport, and I guess to seeing Australia really embrace the women’s team, women’s basketball has been around for a long time in Australia,” Jackson shared candidly.
And as they say, the rest is history. Jackson went on to have an illustrious career in both the WNBL, the WNBA, and internationally.
She won her first WNBL championship in 1999 at just 18 years old for the Canberra Capitals, the first of five titles she would bag in the Australian league.
It didn’t take long for the WNBA to discover Jackson’s potential as a franchise player and the face of the league. She was selected first overall by the Seattle Storm back in the 2001 WNBA Draft.
Afterwards, she would form a formidable one-two punch with Sue Bird — another eventual legendary name in the sport — as they carried the Storm and turned the squad into a powerhouse squad.
Seattle won the WNBA championship in 2004 and 2010. By the time Jackson was finished with her WNBA career, across her basketball resume was three season Most Valuable Player awards, nine all-WNBA selections, seven WNBA all-star selections, and the Finals MVP in 2010 while averaging 18.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in 12 seasons under one franchise.
Perhaps, the highlight of her international career would be winning the 2006 FIBA World Cup gold in Brazil, when the Opals went on an undefeated nine-game run and beat Russia in the final, 91–74.
That was the crown jewel in a lengthy international career that spanned three decades as well and translated to four Olympic medals (three silvers, one bronze) and three World Cup podium finishes (1998, 2002, and 2006).
It’s quite fitting that during the draw, Jackson was joined by an Opals legend herself: Michele Timms, who saw action during the 1994 games where Australia made the semifinals.
Now both revered as legends of the sport, both Timms and Jackson may just marvel at the world’s best women’s basketball talents comfortably as fans starting on September 22.
The world no. 3-ranked Opals, coached by Sandy Brondello, will have a tough campaign ahead, as they were drawn in Group B along with Canada (no. 4), France (no. 6), Japan (no. 8), Serbia (no. 10), and Nigeria (no. 14).
In the opposite group are the defending World Cup and Olympic champions United States, China, Bosnia and Herzegovina, South Korea, Belgium, and a team still to be determined after FIBA’s decision on Russia.
As for Jackson’s early analysis on the groupings, she thinks the home team will have a difficult grind in order to reach the medal rounds.
“The matchups, look, I think it really, really is a tough draw for Australia. They have to play the best teams to really understand what it’s going to be like to get in that gold medal match,” she said.
“I think all the games they are going to play are going to be important. I think the Serbia matchup is going to be a big one. Every single game that they play is going to be difficult.”
The top four teams in each of the two groups will advance to the knockout quarterfinals.
When it came to players to watch, Jackson spoke highly about Bosnia and Herzegovina’s naturalized center, WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones, even noting that she can be a game-changer for the sport, as well as the entire United States squad although she befittingly gave a shout to her Storm successor in Breanna Stewart.
“Jonquel Jones, absolutely. I’m just absolutely busting to see her play. I think she is someone who can change the way that people are looking at the World Cup game, I should say. I think she is going to be awesome to watch,” she said. “And then with the American team, what player wouldn’t I call out? They’re all amazing. I can’t wait to see Breanna Stewart get back on the court.”
For the Opals, Jackson mentioned forward Rebecca Allen and sharpshooter Sami Whitcomb. At 33 years old and now the veteran of the team, Whitcomb will be in her second World Cup appearance if ever, and will bring aspects of her game which Jackson thinks fans have not seen in the highest levels of competition for a while.
“I think Rebecca Allen and then Sami Whitcomb, I think they are going to be important. I think Sami is going to bring something important to the Opals that we just haven’t seen in the World Cup or the Olympics for a while and I am really looking forward to seeing her play.”
After all her contributions to the sport, including countless records, milestones, and highlights, Jackson talking about the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in this particular way is much deserved.
She has come full circle in the sport that she grew up loving. And hopefully, the next generation will also come up with a story like hers, starting as a fan and ending up having one of the greatest basketball careers one could ever dream of.
“It’s a really exciting time for women’s basketball and just having all this talent down here on Australian soil is just going to lift the profile of the game, 100 percent and I am just really excited,” she said.
“We’ve had a huge support, huge following, and obviously in the last few years, women’s sports are taking off in this country, I think it’s time basketball became in front of people’s minds and I think this is a perfect opportunity for this to happen, to see the grit and determination of our girls and I’m just really excited to see it.”
