Lauren Jackson considering a comeback
To say Lauren Jackson is the best Australian women’s basketball player in history is a bit misleading. Why? Because she could well be the greatest Australian basketball player in history, period.
It’s hard to believe it’s been two years (March of 2016) since Jackson announced her retirement from the WNBL, WNBA and international basketball, playing for the Australian National Team.
While playing in Australia’s WNBL, Jackson won four WNBL MVP awards as well as four MVP awards from the WNBL Grand Finals. During her remarkable career in the WNBA, she won two league championships (with the Seattle Storm), took down four MVP awards and made the All-Star game on seven different occasions. Finally, she led the National team to one World Championship (Melbourne 2006) and three consecutive silver medals in the Olympics starting in 2000. Any gambler with a bet365 promo code in hand could rely on Ms. Jackson to deliver her best.
After being two years removed from any form of organised basketball, Jackson has opened the door to a possible return to the hardwood if the opportunity arises. For now, she is slated to take her place as head coach of the Albury-Wodonga Bandits’ women’s team, for the upcoming NBL1 season. While coaching, it's within the realm of possibility that she could decide to suit up for the team and take her place on the bench as a player/coach. To bring light to what’s possible, she has already registered as a roster player for the upcoming season.
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In an October 2018 interview during a Fox Sports documentary, Jackson talked about the future. She stated: “I’m going to start training again and see if I can suit up in SEABL. My knee’s still pretty bad. I’ve got no ambition to get back into the WNBL or play for Australia. I just want to be home and playing basketball with my kids running around.” For the record, she has been training and indicated her knees are improving.
More recently, she told NBL.com.au: “I have been appointed as the Head Coach of the Southern Vale Homes Bandits. At this stage my 100 per cent focus is on being the best coach I can be and guiding my team to as many wins as possible."
She later added, “If my health allows me to do so, I would love to pull on a Bandits uniform at some stage down the track but at this stage, playing is not something that I’m focused on.”
At the age of 37, Jackson could still have a couple of decent years to play as long as her health holds up. She’s not one to hurt the team is she doesn’t feel she can compete at the highest level.
When asked the prospects of Jackson playing, Steve Wright, the president of the Bandits, said, “When we offered Lauren the position of Head Coach it was with the understanding that she would be a non-playing coach. We would love nothing more than to see Lauren out on the court with her team in the stadium that is named in her honor but that will be totally her call. Whatever Lauren decides is best for our team we will support her 100 per cent.”