Three-time WNBL all star, a grand final most valuable player award and Opals guard. Leilani Mitchell's resume is already one of the best in Australian basketball.
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Is she about to add the title of the WNBL's most expensive bench player?
The marquee recruit will make her Capitals debut this weekend but it might be some time before she is in the starting five if the ladder leaders continue their round one form.
The Opals guard will not travel to Victoria for Canberra's clash with the Melbourne Boomers on Friday night, but she will suit up against the Adelaide Lightning at the National Convention Centre on Sunday following a plantar fasciitis issue that ended her World Cup hopes.
Capitals coach Paul Goriss laughs he isn't sure where he can fit Mitchell but one thing is for sure - the 33-year-old doesn't want to be watching from the sidelines for much longer.
"I had a good time because they were playing so well, and it was fun to cheer with the other injured girls. It was good to support them, but I’m ready to play. I want to get out there with the girls," Mitchell said at the Canberra Summer of Women's Sport launch.
"Last week was fantastic, it was good to witness it. The girls played amazing, for the first game it was a great start, but it’s a long season and we’ve got a lot to improve on still and room to get better.
"I’m excited to join them and just roll with them, get out there and see what happens. I’ll be ready to go for limited minutes, but at least I’ll be able to get out there."
Goriss says the new-look Capitals are brimming with belief "because of the talent we've got" after a stunning opening night win over the Sydney Flames last week - adding "talent wins games and talent will hopefully get a championship".
The Capitals mentor is refusing to look too far ahead given the club won its opening two games last season before dropping its next 13.
But the depth of talent this season is far greater than what Goriss had at his disposal last time around - he still has Marianna Tolo and Kristy Wallace waiting in the wings.
"That’s a great thing about our group, we’ve got depth and talent and we’ve got experience," Goriss said.
"It’s going to come down to who is playing well at the time and what group is playing well together. We’ll bring Lei on slowly because we want her for the back end of the season, we don’t want to rush her back in.
"It will be slowly at first, and we have to find, once everyone is healthy and back in, where everyone’s role fits and where everyone plays."
WNBL ROUND 2
Friday, October 19: Melbourne Boomers v Canberra Capitals at Geelong Arena, 7.30pm
Sunday, October 21: Canberra Capitals v Adelaide Lightning at National Convention Centre, 2pm.
