The Week That Was – 18
The first week of October marked return 2.0 of the GOAT. That and plenty more in The Week That Was.
RETURN OF THE GOAT
After recovering from a ruptured Achilles which ended her return WNBL season prematurely, Australia’s greatest ever basketballer Lauren Jackson will soar again with the Southside Flyers in #WNBL24.
Jackson, 42, began her remarkable basketball comeback last year in the NBL1 and it took her to the podium with the Opals at the FIBA World Cup in Sydney before continuing around the country where fans packed stadiums to watch, then meet, the living legend.
She was cruelly injured in the opening minutes of her tribute game at John Cain Arena in February and has documented her recovery on social media ahead of this week’s announcement which thrilled the basketball world.
IMPORT CHANGE
The Melbourne Boomers have a new import after veteran Jantel Lavender withdrew from the upcoming season due to personal reasons.
Chris Lucas has landed Atlanta Dream young big Naz Hamilton who was selected with Pick 15 in the 2022 WNBA draft.
The 23-year-old, who measures in at 188cm, averaged 4.1 points and 3.4 rebounds for the Dream this season.
RIVER CITY REBOUND
Half of the Cygnett WNBL will head to Brisbane for an exciting pre-season tournament.
Townsville Fire, Sydney Flames, Adelaide Lightning and Perth Lynx will converge on the Northside Indoor Sports Centre from October 12 to 15 in the perfect warm-up to the upcoming WNBL season.
River City Rebound is the brainchild of Basketball QLD supported by the QLD Government.
The tournament will be streamed on Basketball Queensland’s You Tube channel. Tickets are available via INTIX.
THERE’S A GAME THIS WEEKEND!
This week marks four weeks until tip off in #WNBL24.
Can’t wait that long for WNBL action? If you’re in Melbourne head down to Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness Centre on Saturday night to watch Melbourne Boomers and Southside Flyers hit the court in a pre-season game. Tip-off is at 7.30pm
THE BIG DANCE
It’s Sandy Brondello’s New York Liberty vs Cayla George’s Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA Finals.
The best two teams all season now do battle in a tantalising best-of-five series which tips off on Monday.
The Liberty line-up features two imports from #WNBL23 – Jocelyn Willoughby, who won Sydney’s MVP but will suit up for the Adelaide Lightning this season, and Kayla Thornton, who was runner-up to George in the Suzy Batkovic Medal. Betnijah Laney is also no stranger to Aussie fans having previously played with Perth, Bendigo and Dandenong.
All WNBA finals games will be aired on ESPN Australia.