It’s been nearly four months since the Seven Consulting Opals stood on the podium in Paris presented with their bronze medals.
And the period since has included more success, deserved breaks and new campaigns for our Australian basketball stars.
Head Coach Sandy Brondello and Olympic All-Star Five member Alanna Smith were immersed in the WNBA until the final day of the season.
Brondello capped an incredible year by delivering inaugural franchise New York Liberty its first ever championship. Smith, meanwhile, played her heart out for Minnesota Lynx and in her first season with her new team earned selection in the WNBA All-Defensive Second Team.
She also achieved career-highs in points, blocks, assists and three-pointers made in the 2024 season.
Smith enjoyed some time in Tasmania with her family, where she posed with a mural painted in her honour, before heading to China to compete in a new season.
Ahead of joining Prague outfit ZVVZ USK Praha in Euro League, Ezi Magbegor enjoyed some rare down time at home in Melbourne and ran a clinic at her junior club Coburg Giants in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.
Steph Talbot added another accolade to her long and impressive CV when she was named the South Australian Sports Institute Female Player of the Year. After completing the WNBA season with the Los Angeles Sparks, Talbot would be sidelined with a calf injury before returning to the court with her Adelaide Lightning a fortnight ago, again linking up with Opals and Adelaide team mate Isobel Borlase.
Also in the Cygnett WNBL, Marianna Tolo and Sami Whitcomb, who is averaging a league-high 24 points per game after five rounds, and their new team Bendigo Spirit are sitting pretty at the top of the ladder with a 6-0 record, Jade Melbourne led her UC Capitals to their first win then, then their second of the season, last round and was recognised with Player of the Week honours while Cayla George is captaining Sydney Flames and featured in the Team of the Week in rounds 1 and 2.
Fans are eagerly awaiting the return of sharpshooter Amy Atwell to Perth Lynx as she recovers from a knee complaint. Atwell’s brilliant 2024 continued post-Paris with Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA.
Following her campaign with the Indiana Fever, Kristy Wallace is enjoying a break, five-time Olympic medallist Lauren Jackson underwent knee surgery post Games and continues to elevate females in the game through her work leading She Hoops and as Basketball Australia’s Head of Women and Girls while Opals captain Tess Madgen announced her retirement and has begun a new chapter in her career as General Manager of Player Relations and Engagement at the Australian Basketball Players’ Association.
