It will be one of many best tales in Australia’s Olympic historical past.
A 43-year-old Lauren Jackson claiming Australia’s first ever Olympic basketball gold medal, 24 years after making her Olympic debut in Sydney.
However is that this a sensible state of affairs, or only a pipe dream?
Discover out as we run by way of every little thing it’s worthwhile to know concerning the 2024 Olympic marketing campaign of Australia’s girls’s basketball staff, the Opals, together with the fixtures, the squad, and who the favourites are to deliver house the gold.
Olympic Video games Paris 2024. Each Occasion. Advert-free. Dwell & On Demand. 4K. 8 Unique Worldwide channels from Eurosport, Viacom18 and Sky NZ solely on Stan Sport.
What are the Opals fixtures on the Paris Olympics?
All instances under are AEST.
| Time | Groups | Venue |
| Monday July 29, 7pm | Nigeria vs Australia | Pierre Mauroy Stadium |
| Thursday August 1, 9:30pm | Australia vs Canada | Pierre Mauroy Stadium |
| Monday August 5, 5am | Australia vs France | Pierre Mauroy Stadium |
The highest two groups in every group, plus the 2 greatest third-placed groups from the three teams, will advance to the quarter-finals.
For the complete fixture, try our complete listing of the scheduled occasions on the Paris Olympics.
Will Lauren Jackson play on the 2024 Olympics?
Sure, Lauren Jackson will go well with up for Australia on the Olympics as soon as once more – 24 years since she first did so, and 12 years since her final look on the Olympic stage.
The 43-year-old made her Olympic debut method again at Sydney 2000 – fairly actually a lifetime in the past in comparison with a few of her teammates – and in early July it was confirmed she had claimed a spot at her fifth Video games, and her first since London 2012.
Jackson retired from worldwide basketball for a 3rd time as not too long ago as March, after serving to Australia qualify for Paris, earlier than backflipping on that call after Basketball Australia agreed to supply an help package deal so her two sons may journey along with her to France.
That was pretty much as good an indication as any that Jackson could be on the airplane when the Opals fly out for his or her pre-Olympics camps in July.
Who’s within the Opals squad for the Paris Olympics?
Opals coach Sandy Brondello whittled down her prolonged squad of 26 to a gaggle of 12 gamers that had been unveiled as the ultimate squad in early July. In addition to the ageless Jackson, there was additionally room for nationwide staff regulars corresponding to Ezi Magbegor, Marianna Tolo and Tess Madgen.
Opals squad for Paris 2024: Rebecca Allen, Isobel Borlase, Cayla George, Lauren Jackson, Tess Madgen, Ezi Magbegor, Jade Melbourne, Alanna Smith, Stephanie Talbot, Marianna Tolo, Kristy Wallace, Sami Whitcomb.
Ezi Magbegor. (Picture by Steve Christo – Corbis/Corbis by way of Getty Pictures)
What occurred to Liz Cambage?
Quite a bit. Most famously, Liz Cambage withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics lower than two weeks earlier than the event was resulting from begin, citing psychological well being points. It was later revealed she had been on the centre of a bodily altercation with a number of Nigeria gamers throughout a coaching recreation, throughout which she was alleged to have instructed them to “return to your third world nation”. Cambage denied these claims, however the injury was completed when it comes to her nationwide staff hopes – she has not performed for the Opals since then, and appears unlikely to take action after stepping away from the WNBA in 2022.
Cambage made headlines once more final 12 months after claiming she had spoken to Nigerian officers about switching allegiances to play for them, which was doable resulting from her Nigerian father.
That didn’t go wherever, although, with a number of Nigerian gamers publicly slapping down the potential for ever enjoying alongside Cambage.
Suffice to say, Cambage is not going to be suiting up for the Opals in Paris.
Has Australia ever gained an Olympic medal in girls’s basketball?
Sure, Australia has gained 5 Olympic medals in girls’s basketball – three silver and two bronze.
The Opals claimed a medal at each Video games between 1996 and 2012, beginning with a historic bronze in Atlanta, earlier than three consecutive silvers in Sydney, Athens and Beijing, and rounding it out with one other bronze in London.
However it’s been a dry spell since then, with the Aussies eradicated on the quarter-finals stage in Rio and Tokyo.
Will Australia win a medal in girls’s basketball on the Paris Olympics?
There’s no cause to consider the Opals can’t declare a medal in Paris, notably given they’re at the moment ranked third on this planet, to go together with their bronze medal at the newest FIBA World Cup in 2022.
That mentioned, they face a really difficult group that includes host nation France and fifth-ranked Canada, together with a difficult conflict towards Nigeria.
Who’s the favorite to win gold in girls’s basketball on the 2024 Olympics?
Given they’ve gained gold on the final seven Video games, solely a courageous individual would recommend Staff USA is something aside from the red-hot favorite in Paris.
Headlining their squad is famous guard Diana Taurasi, who will make historical past as the primary basketballer, male or feminine, to compete at six Olympic Video games (though it’s price noting Lauren Jackon could be lining up for her seventh Olympic marketing campaign this 12 months if she didn’t retire from worldwide competitors, for the primary time, earlier than the 2016 Video games).
9 out of the USA’s 12-player squad are already Olympic gold medallists, and the staff is main the world rankings by a proverbial mile.
All of of this means it might take a monumental effort – from Australia, or some other nation – to cease the USA from claiming gold once more in 2024.
Which nations have certified for girls’s basketball on the Olympics?
Group A
China
Puerto Rico
Serbia
Spain
Group B
Australia
Canada
France
Nigeria
Group C
Belgium
Germany
Japan
USA
