Basketball Australia officials are pushing to extend the WNBL season to ease the workload on players and boost the league's profile.
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Australia's greatest basketballer Lauren Jackson believes the women's game suffered while the WNBL was off the air but a television deal with Fox Sports is breathing life into the sport.
The league is entering the second season of a three-year deal with Fox Sports to televise at least one game per week and all finals in an agreement that aids the WNBL's commercial returns.
The 2017-18 season featured 21 games per team but it was effectively condensed into a three month season with a hectic workload and travel schedule taking a toll on the players.
The season could start later in October because of the world championships, with officials wary of giving players adequate time to prepare for the WNBL opener, and finish in February as opposed to mid-January.
It is welcome news for the WNBL's best players as they prepare for the Commonwealth Games, with outgoing Canberra Capitals star Eziyoda Magbegor eyeing an Opals debut.
Jackson says Magbegor has "the world at her feet" in a rousing endorsement from the lone Australian featured in ESPN's list of the most dominant athletes of the past 20 years.
Magbegor glistened for the Canberra Capitals in her rookie WNBL season and is set to move to the United States to play college basketball later this year, but first she has a home Commonwealth Games gold medal to win.
The 18-year-old forward has been christened "the future of the Opals" by Australian coach Sandy Brondello and Jackson hopes a new TV agreement will open the door for more juniors to follow suit.
"She's going to be a very special athlete," Jackson said at Fox Sports' Women in Sport launch at Parliament House.
"I'm looking forward to seeing her mature into a brilliant young basketballer. She's got the world at her feet and it's just going to be fun to just watch her grow and evolve.
"The thing with the WNBL, especially for younger players, is it gives the girls to go professional straight away, whereas if she goes to college it's four years in a school system before she can go into the WNBA draft.
"Ezi is one of those players who is going to blossom playing against older women. There's benefits either way but the WNBL in this first season for her would have been just an eye-opener.
"The experience of playing against older, stronger athletes is going to be very beneficial for her moving forward."
