Lauren Jackson
Lauren Jackson
Lauren Elizabeth Jackson AOis an Australian former professional basketball player. The daughter of two national basketball team players, Jackson was awarded a scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sportin 1997, when she was 16. In 1998, she led the AIS side that won the Women's National Basketball Leaguechampionship. Jackson joined the Canberra Capitals for the 1999 season when she turned 18, and played with the team off and on until 2006, winning four more WNBL championships. From 2010 to 2016,...
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth11 May 1981
CityAlbury, Australia
Coming into Christmas I didn't even know if I was playing again. I know the girls had a lot of desire to win. I think people lost a bit of faith in us when we lost a few games, but we just knew we could win it.
There's a lot going on. Next year is a really tough year for (Australia). We've got to win the gold medal. I love the WNBA. It just depends on what Basketball Australia's restrictions are.
As a team, we want to win just for her. For someone to make a team want to win for their coach is a pretty powerful thing.
Our long-term focus is Beijing. For us to now know what it feels like to win gold is huge. We can only get better from here.
Helping the Opals win the gold medal is a goal of mine. That will be great for women's basketball in this country.
I made the decision that I was going to play tonight. This was huge for us. Going on the road and winning is big, and we definitely want to win the series in two games so we can relax and prepare for the next round.
With Jenny Whittle (197cm) and Tracey Beatty (202cm) we're by far the tallest and I think it's going to be very difficult for other teams to double and triple team me.
There's some great talent in that team. They stuck it out. They were pretty good, but I never show any pity.
Betty was unstoppable. That's what we need from her every game. Once she does that, we are unstoppable.
Betty was unbelievable, ... That's what we need from her every game. Once she does that, we're unstoppable.
I won't miss any games. I could feel it, but it's just one of those things where you can't really think about it, you've just got to keep going. I was fine. I just focused on the game.
I think I'm coming to a different stage of my career and hopefully this is going to be a very good beginning to something I am so desperate to achieve.
She wanted me to come home and get treatment, but I was pretty much just like, 'It's not going to happen,'
It's not great, ... Once you get out there and start playing, that's just the way it is. With my shins and everything else I've been through that is so painful, I've done this before, so it's not really that frightening.