The two year old was very clear about one of the things she wanted to achieve in life. Her mother and father had both played for Australia in basketball and it seemed to her, even at that early age she was determined to “be like mum and dad” and she would play for Australia one day. She was so confident of this that she not only told her family but her friends and relations as well. So determined was she that she was going to play for Australia that her grand-mother cut up one of her mother’s Australian tracksuit tops and sewed it to fit the toddler, who then proceeded to wear the tracksuit everywhere and tell everyone what she was going to do.
From that early beginning sprang a basketball career without equal in Australian women’s basketball.
Lauren Elizabeth Jackson was born May 11th, 1981 in Albury, NSW. Her parentsGary and Maree Jacksonhad played basketball for NSW and Australia and Maree had distinguished herself as one of the first Australian players to excel in the NCAA in America. Maree was inducted into the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame in 2006 and into the NSW Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.
Lauren began to play basketball at the age of four. When she reached secondary school at Murray High School Albury she was identified as a potential Australian player. So much so that in 1996 when she was still fourteen years of age she was awarded a scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), in Canberra. Such was her maturity and drive that she was able to cope with being away from home and to be challenged every day to be the best that she could, while the coaches under AIS Head Coach Phil Brown nurtured the youngster carefully.
Lauren’s first national representation was as a fourteen year old with the Under 20 National Youth Team (Gems) on a tour to the USA in 1995. She then played for the Gems in the William Jones Cup in Taiwan in 1996. At the end of 1996 and the beginning of 1997 she toured to Europe and Japan with the Gems on a twelve match tour. 1997 also saw Lauren play for the Gems in the St Petersburg Series, against the National teams of Russia and Brazil.
Despite being only fifteen years of age Lauren was chosen on the 1997 Gems team for the Women’s World Youth Basketball Championships which were held in Brazil. Lauren played three games for the Gems in the USA leading into the World Youth Championships. The Gems won the Silver Medal in the World Youth Championships.
When Lauren was sixteenyears old the Australian Women’s Basketball Team (Opals) coach Tom Maher decided to “fast-track” Lauren by selecting her to the Opals team in 1997. That year she played for the Opals in the USQ Invitational held in the USA and the Golden Cup held in Brazil.
In 1997 while playing for the AIS she was named the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) Rookie of the Year. In the 1998/99 WNBL season she led the AIS women’s team to their first WNBL title, an outstanding feat for a team of youngsters many of whom were still in secondary school.
Lauren had a distinguished junior career for her State NSW which included representing NSW Country at the Under 16 Australian Championships (1996) and the Under 18 Championships (1998) and winning the Under 20 National Championships with NSW in 1999.She also played for Murray High School when they won the Australian Schools Championships.
After graduating from the AIS Laurenjoined the Canberra Capitals in the WNBL for the 1999/2000 season when the Club won the WNBL title. Lauren would go on to win five WNBL Championships with the Capitals (1999/00, 2001/02, 2002/03, 2005/06, 2009/10). In all Lauren would be named to the WNBL All Star team six times, and as Grand-Final MVP four times (2001/02, 2002/03, 2005/06, 2009/10), as well as WNBL MVP four times (1998/99, 1999/00, 2002/03and 2003/04).
Lauren’s career with the Opals continued in 1998 when she played against Brazil, in the Japan Basketball Festival, in the Grand Prix of Slovakia and in the Portugal Tournament. These games were all part of the team’s build-up for the World Championships.
The 1998 Women’s World Basketball Championships in Germany were to see Lauren for the first time on the senior world basketball stage. She and the Opals won the Bronze Medal. She was seventeen years of age. Her play, maturity and skills in those championships announced her to the world of basketball as a potential super-star.
After the 1998 World Championships, Lauren and the Opals played in the MaherCup against China and the Goldmark Cup against the USA. This last series was to start a tremendous rivalry between the two best teams in the world and individual contests for Lauren against the veteran American superstars and in particular Lisa Leslie.
In 1999 Lauren played for the Opals in the Maher Cup against Cuba and the Goldmark Cup against Brazil before the Opals played in the US Olympic Cup and the USA Basketball Invitational. Again the USA and the Opals were eye-balling each other in preparation for the 2000 Olympics.
The Opals preparation in 2000 for the Sydney Olympics was the best in the team’s history. The Opals, with Lauren a major force, played 31 games. These games were against Russia, Canada, New Zealand, the USA and Brazil. As well the Opals played in the Olympic Test Event, the C7 Challenge and toured to Europe to play France and Slovakia.
The 2000 Sydney Olympics were very special to all the Opals and to Lauren. It was her first Olympics and she was playing at home in front of family, friends and fans.
For the nineteen year old Lauren much was expected by team-mates and the public, but those expectations were not as high as what Lauren put to herself and the team. The Opals played brilliantly and coming into the Final of the Olympic Tournament they were undefeated. In the Final the Opals played the other undefeated team the USA. A Gold Medal was a great possibility, but it was not to be as the Opals came away with Silver. They were disappointed but the Australian public was very proud of them.Lauren scored 20 points and secured 13 rebounds in the Final.
Lauren displayed her wonderful talent and potential at the Sydney 2000 Games. Her athleticisms, drive, leadership, rebounding skills, aggression, her undoubted skills to score around the basket and from beyond the three-point line as well as her ability to run the court clearly signified that she was a special player and one who would be even better in the future.
The attention of the world of basketball had been centred on the Opals and Lauren and it was no surprise that in 2001 she was drafted No 1 to the Seattle Storm in the world’s best Club basketball competition the American WNBA.
Her subsequent career in the WNBA has few equals. She has been named to the WNBA First Team seven times, MVP of the League three times, the MVP of the Finals once, a WNBA All Star eight times, was selected to the WNBA All Decade Team, named WNBA Best Defensive Player (2007) and was a member of the Seattle Storm team that won two WNBA titles (2004 and 2010). In 2007 she set a WNBA single game record when she scored 47 points.
Lauren was now a household name in American homes and basketball. Her clashes with super-star Lisa Leslie were legendary as the veteran Leslie fought to ward off Lauren’s challenge as to who was the best player in the world.
Lauren’s star was truly shining for her all over the world and she squeezed in seasons in Europe where she won two National Championships in Russia. She played on teams that won three EuroLeague Championships, one Spanish Championships and she was a two time EuroLeague All Star and a EuroLeague Final Four MVP. Lauren played in Asia where her team was runner-up for the Korean National Club Championships (she was named Most Valuable Import Player in the Korean League).
Between playing for the Opals, WNBL in Australia, WNBA in the USA and basketball in Europe and Asia, Lauren was doing it all and achieving dizzy heights rarely equalled in women’s basketball.
After Sydney 2000 Lauren’s career with the Opals continued but would be curtailed due to her many commitments. She played for the Opals against Japan and in the Opals World Challenge in 2002. She was a mainstay of the Opals team in their bid for Gold at the 14th World Championships which were held in China. The Opals won Bronze.
Lauren did not play for the Opals in 2003.
She joined the Opals for the 2004 FIBA Diamond Ball Tournament in Crete as the team headed to Athens, Greece for the 2004 Olympic Games. The Opals led by Lauren’s great talents played a wonderful Olympic Tournament. It was clear now that Lauren was one of the best players in the world and the USA and the Opals were the two best teams in the world. Lauren had big games throughout the tournament. These included12 points and 14 rebounds in the Final, 26 points and 13 rebounds against Brazil in the semi-final and 31 points and 9 rebounds against Japan. The Opals were undefeated until the Final of the Olympic Tournament where they were defeated by the USA and had to settle for a Silver Medal.
Lauren missed the next year (2005) with the Opals. In 2006 she captained the Opals in the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne where the team won the Gold Medal. She was selected as Captain of the Opals in 2006 and led the team in the Opals World Challenge in Australia and against the USA in that country before playing in the World Championships in Brazil.
The 15th World Championships in Brazil were the Opals finest hour. The team played brilliantly, as did Lauren and went on to win the Gold Medal. The Opals and Lauren were the best in the world. It was a staggering achievement in one of the world’s biggest and most competitive women’s sports. Lauren’s play in the championships was sublime and it was at this time that fans started to talk of her as “the world’s best player.”
Lauren played for the Opals again in2008 in games against Brazil in Australia and in the FIBA Diamond Ball in China as lead in to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.By the 2008 Olympic Games Lauren was at the peak of her game. She was an excellent shooter from around the basket and from beyond the three-point line, a strong defender and shot blocker, a great passer, supreme rebounder, fleet of foot, an outstanding leader and smooth in all the skills of the game. She was one of the best if not the best player in the world.
Lauren was named captain of the Opals 2008 Women’s Olympic Basketball Team. The Opals and Lauren believed that this would be the Olympics when they would take the Gold from the USA. However for the third Olympics in a row the Opals went undefeated until the Final when they lost again to the USA and won the Silver Medal. Lauren was most disappointed but she and the Opals had won three successive Olympic Silver Medals...a wonderful achievement.
Lauren scored 20 points and took 10 rebounds in the Final, 17 points and 12 rebounds against the Czech Republic and 18 points 10 rebounds against Bulgaria to highlight a few of her games in the 2008 Olympic Tournament
Lauren had another year off from the Opals in 2009 and then played for the Opals in the 2010 World Championships in the Czech Republic. The Opals finished in 5th position after an upset loss in the Quarter Finals.
The 2012 London Olympic Games loomed. Lauren and the Opals were again seeking that elusive Gold Medal. Lauren did not play for the Opals in 2011. She played for the Opals in the 2012 Women’s International Tournament in Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic and in the Olympic Farewell Series in Melbourne after her selection as Olympic Basketball Team Captain. In the lead into the 2012 London Olympic Games Lauren and the Opals played in the Sheffield Invitational Tournament in England and in the Lille International Tournament in France.
The London Olympics were a personal triumph for Lauren as she was named as the Australian Olympic Team Captain for all teams and competitors and was the Flag Bearer for her country at the Opening Ceremony. This was a wonderful honour for Lauren personally, as well as for her family and the sport of basketball in Australia. She followed in the footsteps of Andrew Gaze who captained the Australian Sydney 2000 Olympic Team and was the Flag Bearer in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
Why was Lauren chosen for this great honour? The answer is that Lauren had established herself as one of the world’s greatest female basketball players of all time and emphatically as the best Australian female basketball player of all-time. Her height, offensive and defensive skills, determination, toughness, team-spirit, ethics and passion for basketball and country are but a few of the attributes that have made her she is on the basketball court. She was competing in her 4th Olympics and had won three Olympic Silver Medals in past Olympic Games. Her public demeanour, profile and passion for her country made her the ideal choice as Flag Bearer and Olympic Team Captain.
At the time Lauren commented, “This moment makes me feel nothing is impossible. I can’t think of anything that could top this. Obviously a Gold Medal would be awesome....but I feel this is something that will never happen to me again.” Australian Olympic Chef de Mission Nick Green commented, “To me Lauren is an unassuming athlete with wonderful leadership qualities....she is admired by her team-mates and respected by her opponents.”
The Opals got off to a slow start in the London 2012 Olympic Basketball Tournament and were upset by France in overtime in the preliminary round and as a result played the USA in the semi-final and lost. They regrouped and defeated Russia for the Bronze Medal. The results for all teams against the USA demonstrated that the Opals were the only team that could really challenge the Americans. During the Olympic Tournament Lauren passed the mark for the total points scored by a female player in the history of Olympic Games basketball.
Opals great Robyn Maher says, “Lauren is no doubt Basketball Australia's most prized possession. Her grit and determination to make every play and win every game makes Lauren a true champion on and off the court.
Fellow four time fellow Olympian Kristi Harrower remarks, “Lauren Jackson....in one word...superstar.”
Fellow WNBA star Diana Taurasi, from the United States, says, “They do not come better than Lauren Jackson. I guess you don't really understand how good she is until you're on the court with her.”
However Lauren has been just as impressive off the court. Her demeanour, respect for the game, respect for the fans, humility and sense of history of the game and her basketball grass roots makes her an exceptional sportsperson and human being.
Lauren Jackson has nothing else to prove on or off the basketball court. She has represented her family, friends, fans, team-mates and country with great distinction.
That two year old who predicted many years ago that she was going to play for Australia, and wore her mother’s tracksuit top with such pride had indeed honoured her mother’s singlet and the singlet of her country.
After the 2012 London Olympics Lauren returned to playing with Seattle in the WNBA. Whether she continues through to the 2016 Olympics is a decision she is still to make at this time.
Lauren Jackson was inducted into the Basketball NSW Hall of Fame in 2011 and is a certain Basketball Australia Hall of Famer when she retires.