Australian basketball legend Lauren Jackson, who describes herself as “on borrowed time”, will play at her fifth Olympics in Paris – 12 years after her last appearance, in London. Her path to Paris has been a minefield.
Lauren Jackson is blocking the doorway. She doesn’t mean to, but the champion’s considerable frame has been positioned there – in this Port Melbourne warehouse, built of shipping containers and offcut lumber – by a photographer.
The headline topic is her motivation going into a fifth Olympic Games. It’s definitely different to the way it was before her last summer Games, 12 years ago in London. And different again to her first, 24 years ago in Sydney. That’s mostly due to the continuingBasically, Jackson never thought she would recover from serious foot and Achilles injuries last year, so in her mind, every day right now is about consistency and precious little else.
Speaking of motherhood, one of the factors that spurred her backflip on retiring from international competition was an offer from Basketball Australia to help bring her two sons – Harry, 7, and Lenny, 5 – to France, because it was becoming too hard leaving them behind for professional sport. I’m curious about how they took her change of heart., I was hit with ‘You’re a liar’ and ‘You’re not prioritising us’ – and this is coming from a 7-year-old.
She’s more than capable, too, in part because she knows her role. Jackson understands that international basketball is now filled with a new and evolving uber-athletic breed of player – “bigs who can handle the ball and do guard-like things” – meaning she’s candid in her own self-assessment. Jackson isn’t exactly surprised that Clark was left out of Team USA either , given nine of their 12-player squad are already Olympic gold medallists. And Clark, she points out, isn’t the only great story in their team. How about Diana Taurasi chasing a sixth Olympic gold medal? Or the“Any given day, absolutely,” Jackson says, nodding. “Look at our players and the athleticism they have. Ezi Magbegor, oh my God, she’s going to be one of the best defenders in the world.
Jackson’s own foundation – She Hoops – is taking off as well, helping amplify conversations about women’s basketball, and fostering programs that get girls involved in the sport. Throughout the media day, for instance, Jackson ropes more than a few of the big names there into a photo or two with a branded hoodie, whether Cayla George or Duop Reath.
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