The selfless attitude of Lauren Jackson has stunned Opals teammates, a stark difference to life with their previous big-name star Liz Cambage.
The return of Jackson, the Opals’ greatest and most successful player, has given the Australian women’s program a monumental boost.
Opals centre Cayla George says the entire squad feels more comfortable with Australia’s hoops GOAT on their side.
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This was on show recently when George felt anxious about wearing Jackson’s old No. 15 singlet.
She was receiving online pressure to relinquish the number that Lauren, and her mother, had donned during stints in the green and gold.
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George was so worried that she approached Jackson about the number, mostly out of respect after watching her dominate in the No. 15 for over a decade.
“But Lauren didn’t make an issue of it at all,” George told News Corp.
“We had a chat in New York during training camp and she was so beautiful.
“It wasn’t even a thing and she said, ‘no, that is your number Cayla and it’s not a problem’.
“She wanted to wear No. 25 as her second coming in the Opals. She now has two young boys, but I was getting slammed online with people saying George should give up her No. 15 singlet. I was getting a bit of anxiety about it.
“Lauren was the one that gave me the No. 15 when she retired, so I felt bad and wanted to talk to her about it, but she wasn’t worried.”
Jackson team-first act proves the Opals have moved on from Cambage’s selfishness ahead of this year’s World Cup in Sydney.
The women’s national side were forced to walk on eggshells to accommodate for Cambage’s superstar ways in the past, which slowly eroded the team’s culture.
Life is vastly different with Jackson back in the Opals side, according to George.
“Lauren is a quality human,” she said.
“Getting to know her as a teammate has been really special for me.
“I’ve regularly reminded her that she was on my schoolbooks when she was in the 2004 Olympic Athens team.
“I briefly played with Lauren as a junior Opal before she retired. I only got on the court with her for about 90 seconds, so it’s great to play with her again almost 10 years on.
“She is in a different mindset now. She has a couple of kids, and she has done a lot to get to where she is.
“Getting to know her on a teammate level has been amazing.”
Jackson may be Australia’s most accomplished basketball, men or women, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t experience self-doubt.
The Albury-born forward struggled with nervousness when she first joined the Opals training camp.
It’s why George turned motivator in a bid to help Jackson overcome her jitters.
“There is a lot of pressure on her,” she said.
“All eyes are on her, so I really felt for her a few times.
“Because of the player she has been throughout her career. Yes, she is 41, but she has got herself in a position where she has made the Australian team again.
“But there is still pressure and a lot of it that she puts on herself.
“I’ve given her a few little pep talks just to let her know how I feel about her to give her confidence.
“Like everyone, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done, sometimes you just need to be reminded.”
The Opals have long been the benchmark of success for Australian basketball, with countless silver and even a World Championship gold medal in their trophy cabinet.
The women’s winning aura copped a hit at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics following their quarter-final exit, but George says Jackson has helped the Opals regain their edge.
“Lauren is phenomenal to have around the group because we want to be known again as feared among the nations we play,” she said.
“Feared is what Lauren is. She is the most feared Opal of all time, so she gives the group extra confidence.
“Even having her around for some extra intimidation factor, which looking back a few years we never thought this would be how we are entering the World Cup with Lauren on our team.”
