“Playing for your life”: A glimpse into the brutal reality of WNBA training camp

Running until you vomit. Players intentionally trying to injure teammates. Three weeks without touching a basketball. Welcome to the most brutal preseason in the world.

The Australian Opals had just won bronze at the 1998 World Cup in Germany.

Led by the likes of Rachael Sporn, Sandy Brondello, and Carla Boyd, Australia had charged to an 8-1 finish at the tournament, with their only loss coming in the semi-finals. Boyd’s 26 points in the finale – a six-point win over Brazil – helped the Opals to their equal best finish at an international tournament. With a bronze medal, as well as 17-year-old Lauren Jackson in the mix, the future was certainly bright, and for an ascendant Opals outfit, there was plenty to celebrate.

But any celebrations were short lived for the trio of Sporn, Brondello and Boyd, who were straight onto a flight bound for Detroit. They arrived in the evening, ate dinner, and would be on the court for the WNBA’s newest expansion team the next morning, as they were already late for training camp. Sporn had been the Shock’s second round pick, and Brondello their fourth. Boyd had been signed as a free agent, only after the coaching staff kept noticing her dominate Lightning games on the tapes they’d been watching Sporn’s highlights on.

As the three landed in Michigan, they had no idea what was to come. They were considered some of the world’s finest players, and had just spent the past week playing against the best of the best. Little did they know what they were in for.

The next week would be spent in physical hell: dodging elbows and running until they’d throw up, while acclimatising to a different basketball; a rite of passage for any Aussie female basketballers hoping to make it in the world’s best league. For the likes of Alanna Smith, Jade Melbourne, and the rest of the Australians in America, what exactly does the world’s most brutal preseason look like?