Australian basketball legend Lauren Jackson starred in her highly anticipated return to the court on Saturday night, six years after chronic knee injuries forced her to retire from the game.
Jackson announced earlier this year she would return to the court for her hometown Albury Wodonga Bandits in the country’s second-tier NBL1 East competition.
Fortunately, the 40-year-old’s battered knees have recovered since her retirement just before the 2016 Rio Olympics on account of an exemption for medicinal cannabis.
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The forward impressed in her first game back, helping the Bandits secure a 78-61 victory over the Central Coast Crusaders in Terrigal.
In fact, the seven-time WNBA All-Star didn’t miss a beat, opening her campaign with a fluid catch-and-shoot three-pointer that swished the bottom of the net.
Jackson finished as the Bandits top scorer with an emphatic five three-pointers, five rebounds and a stunning block.
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The commanding performance gives momentum to the suggestion that the four-time Olympian could once again pull on the green and gold for the World Cup.
The FIBA women’s World Cup will take place in Sydney in September with the Opals desperate to put up a better results on home soil than their quarter-finals effort at the Tokyo Olympics.
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