Australia’s new star has been touted as basketball’s next big thing and shapes as the key cog in the Opals’ Paris campaign starting tonight against Nigeria
Australia's Ezi Magbegor will be a crucial cog in the Opals’ women’s basketball campaign at the 2024 Paris Olympics.Australia's Ezi Magbegor will be a crucial cog in the Opals’ women’s basketball campaign at the 2024 Paris Olympics.Australia’s emerging superstar Ezi Magbegor is used to blocking shots, but in the biggest snub in women’s basketball this year it was the coaches of the 12
“I’m going to be honest and say yes, obviously I was a little disappointed,” Magbegor told her local newspaper the Seattle Times two days after finding out. “Maybe more than a little bit.” The New Zealand-born forward/ centre, moved to Australia with her Nigerian parents at age six. She has long been touted as the woman to claim the mantle of Australia’s next great basketball talent after Lauren Jackson retires for good, and following the false start of Liz Cambage in green and gold.
The experience has steeled Magbegor – and the rest of the Opals. The team won bronze at the home World Cup in 2022, only narrowly losing to China in the semi-finals. And they are again among the medal contenders at Paris.With Magbegor and Alanna Smith, the Opals boast an imposing defensive front-court. Magbegor trails only A’ja Wilson in blocks in the WNBA this season, while Smith is third. But it’s not clear yet how coach Sandy Brondello will deploy the pair of defensive pillars.
Phoenix Mercury wing Bec Allen, who was widely tipped to start for the Opals, injured her hamstring in the final warm-up match, and will be replaced by Amy Atwell for the tournament. The news was a blow for the team on the eve of the tournament. “Bec is such a big part of our team and has been for a long time, we are all devastated for her,” Brondello said last week.
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