Why 'scary' WNBL return could see Lauren Jackson in Opals selection frame for Paris Olympics

On Monday night Jackson made the shock announcement to play another WNBL season with the Southside Flyers, eight months after suffering an ACL injury in the competition.

Australian basketball great Michele Timms was not surprised by Jackson's decision to return to the WNBL again, and believes she may be building towards a fairytale return to the Olympic Games in Paris next year.

"I would dare say if she went through the WNBL season and made a case [for her selection], there is no reason why you don't take one of the league's best players," Timms said.

"I'm not sure what is going through her mind in regards to the Olympics, but knowing LJ it would not surprise me at all if she's going to try and make that Opals team."

Jackson's future was uncertain after tearing her ACL in February while playing in her WNBL comeback season with the Flyers. She also played through a broken foot for several games before suffering the ACL injury.

In a January game in Canberra against the team she won four WNBL titles with, the physical toll on Jackson was clear as she had both feet in an ice bath for hours while signing hundreds of autographs for adoring fans in the capital.

However Jackson assured coaches and fans she is "feeling ready to get on court again" after months of rehabilitation.

With all the commitments Jackson juggles on and off the court, Timms said Jackson's incredible "desire" to keep playing should be a warning to other WNBL teams that the hall-of-famer isn't taking her return lightly.

"It's a little bit scary for everyone else in the league, because if she's got that mindset and that drive, if she can stay healthy she's going to have a really good season," Timms said.

"We're talking about a single mother of two who works at Basketball Australia, travels everywhere around the country, and then to fit in training as well - she's an inspiration to be honest.

"Many of us in the basketball world felt like this might be happening because she's been posting so much about her training and been in such great shape.

"It's very exciting to have LJ back. It's wonderful for the league and if she feels her body is still good and she can still go, then I think, why not?"

Despite her age, Timms has no doubt Jackson would provide a massive boost to the Opals' gold medal hopes at the upcoming Games if she could remain injury-free.

The pair won silver together at the Sydney Olympics, then after Timms retired Jackson went on to claim another two silver medals in Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008), and bronze in London (2012) before injuries forced her first international retirement in 2013.

Last year Jackson made a miraculous Opals comeback, helping the Australians claim bronze at the FIBA Women's World Cup in Sydney, and her return came at a crucial time for the squad after the Liz Cambage controversy before the Tokyo Games, Timms said.

"After the incidents before Tokyo, they really needed someone to come in and redefine what it meant to be an Opal and you saw her leadership come through with that group," Timms said.

"At the World Cup in Sydney she didn't play big minutes, and probably could have played more during the tournament, but when she did play, they were really critical minutes and her output was very good."

The 44th edition of the WNBL begins on November 1, with the Flyers' first match against Melbourne on November 4, while the Capitals tip off their season at home against Adelaide on November 5.

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