Lauren Jackson ruled out for Albury Wodonga Bandits game against Canberra Nationals in Tuggeranong

Canberra Nationals coach Natalie Hurst's words show the impact the former WNBA MVP's return is having on basketball in the region.

She is averaging 32 points per game in the Albury Wodonga Bandits jersey in the NBL1 East competition.

Jackson was due to continue her form at Tuggeranong Basketball Stadium this weekend but, due to COVID-19, the former Opal will not make the trip.

"She's still the GOAT of basketball, so to have someone like her in the league is amazing," Hurst said.

"She's going out and touching up a few teams, but I don't think anyone cares because everyone's just happy to see her back on the court, and doing it in front of her sons.

"I played with Lauren for years and I was sad about the way she had to retire. So I was super happy that she's been able to come back on court and do what she's doing.

"So as much as it's tough to play against ... everyone in Australia is just embracing the fact that we've got our best basketballer back on court."

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The Nationals sit 1-4 heading into Saturday's game, and despite Jackson's absence from the Bandits roster still face a big challenge.

Hurst said their game plan was, obviously, going to be amended given the former WNBA first pick would not be taking to the court.

"We had some type of game plan for Lauren but for her, it's just trying to slow her down in any way we could," she said.

"The girls didn't care if she dropped 40 [points], they were just extremely excited to be on the court so I'm going to have a disappointed team.

"But it wasn't all focused on her. It's was more about what we can do team wise, as our form hasn't been great."