Australian Opals All-Time Starting Five

As impossible tasks go, this one is right up there — picking the Australian Opals all-time starting five.

This isn't just the five best players to lace 'em for the Australian women's team, the object of this list is to build a starting group that would be all-world in any generation.

Everything starts on defense, so that is a key criteria of making this team, the ability to score and make big plays on both ends of the floor is number two and three. Outside of those qualities, an X-Factor, the catalyst to greatness is what separates stars from superstars.

The reality is only one starter picks themselves — Lauren Jackson — the other four starters spent careers fighting for their spots.

This starting five would be elite on defense, almost unbeatable behind the ball in the half-court. Good luck scoring at the rim if you beat these Opals guards off the dribble.

The front line can also seriously score the ball. Uh-oh for anyone who would come up against them.

Meet the Australian Opals' All-Time Starting Five

1. Point Guard: Michele Timms

Naismith Hall of Famer, WNBA All-Star, Olympic Games Silver (2000) and Bronze (1996) medallist and Australian Opals captain. Michelle Timms — standing 170cm — is the consummate, wilful leader, determined, disciplined and tenacious. For this Opals team, she is the tip of the spear on both ends of the floor. In her rookie season for the Phoenix Mercury in '97, she was dominant, averaging of 12.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.6 steals per game. Timms was an elite defender at the 1, coupled to her ability to score the ball and her ability to make her teammates better ... there is no doubt, Timms wins the point guard spot and the captaincy of the Opals All-Time Starting Five.

2. Shooting Guard: Sandy Brondello

Sandy Brondello — standing 170cm — is a hooper's hooper. She is a three-time Olympic Games medallist (two Silvers and a Bronze), WNBA All-Star, WNBL MVP and current Australian Opals coach. She's also a veteran of the Opals for more than a decade, crossing a generation of Opals superstars. She's a two-time WNBA championship winning coach, which means her ability to understand the game, now, as a coach started from the 2-guard spot as a player. Prime Sandy  — the 34th pick in the WNBA Draft by the Detroit Shock — averaged (per 36 minutes) 15.4 ppg, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals. She was an All-Star the following season. More than 15ppg at the two in this team is exactly what it needs and combined with Timms' 2.6 steals this backcourt is creating four forced turnovers a game. A tough, relentless 2 puts Sandy in the starting five.

3. Small Forward: Penny Taylor

The tournament MVP of the Australian Opals 2006 World Championship, a three-time Olympic Games medallist (two Silvers and a Bronze), three-time WNBA champion, All-WNBA First Teamer, and WNBL champion, Penny Taylor can play. It's no surprise Prime Penny and Prime Lauren led the Opals to their first gold medal at the World Championships. She was a dominant force on both sides of the ball. Her former teammate and now wife Diana Taurasi of seven years had a front-row seat to Taylor’s excellence. “I think ‘07, (Penny was basically) the MVP of the world,” she said. Taylor owned the WNBA post season in 2007 – averaging 19.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. And in the clutch: she went for 30 (including 16-for-16 from the free-throw line) in the decisive Game 5 on the road brought the city its first WNBA crown. Big game players deliver when it matters most. Taylor at the 3 is a no-brainer.

4. Power Forward: Lauren Jackson

The GOAT of Australian basketball. At 196cm (6'5" in the old scale), Jackson could do it all on both ends of the floor — and she did for years. Jackson dominated the WNBA for a decade while at the same time wreaked havoc on the WNBL. Wedged into the middle of that decade of dominance was her leading role in the Australian Opals winning their first World Championship in 2006. She and Taylor were the one-two punch that led the tournament in efficiency ratings while Jackson led the tournament in scoring. In 2007, she dropped 47 on Washington — the same year she won the WNBA's Defensive Player of the Year. Rarely, if ever, has there been a player who could score the ball in the paint, shoot the three and block almost any shot coming down the lane. She averaged more than 20 four times in the WNBA, and more than 19 twice. All three WNBA MVP seasons, she average a near 20-10 double double. A WNBA career 1.8 blocks per game, 35% from thee and 84% from the free throw line. Jackson at the 4 in the All-Time Opals starting five is a lock. The GOAT picks herself.

5. Centre: Liz Cambage

Park the controversy and polarisation, Liz Cambage — standing 206cm (6'9") — is an all-time bucket-getter. She led the WNBA in scoring in 2018, averaging 23ppg while collecting 9.7 boards, she also averaged 1.6 blocks per game over her WNBA career, is a four-time WNBA All-Star, Olympic Games Bronze Medallist, World Cup Silver medallist, and WNBL MVP. Cambage put up a then WNBA record 53 points against the New York Liberty and then had 35 against the Washington Mystics, which is the highest two-game total in league history. Cambage led the Opals in scoring and rebounding at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. In 2019, she was monster for the Las Vegas Aces in the five playoff games she played: 23.6 ppg; 11.4 rebounds; and 1.8 blocks. Yes, there is an issue with longevity in the Green & Gold but the flame burned white hot when she suited up.

Game Plan

Defense: Good luck. This group would play straight up man-to-man and punish any club that came up against it. Ball pressure in the back court but if the guards are beaten off the dribble, you're running straight into legitimate shot blockers in 6'5" Jackson and 6'9" Cambage. Between Jackson, Cambage and Taylor, the defensive boards are also locked up.

Offense: As Sue Bird explained in Jackson's Seattle Storm retirement ceremony, Jackson's approach was just "pass me the f**cking ball..." Yep. Get the GOAT the ball and let her operate. Cambage playing off Jackson means it's impossible to double either of our bigs. Taylor, Brondello and Timms ensure spacing, Jackson operates out of the high pick and roll with Timms or Brondello ... everyone has to stay at home so the middle of the floor is wide open for Jackson to operate on the roll. In transition, Cambage rim running and into the low block and the floor opens up for her to go to work or hit cutters.

And as they say: "Boom goes the dynamite".

About the Author

Peter Brown is the head coach of the Sydney Comets Women’s Youth League team in the Waratah Basketball League in NSW. He is also the assistant coach for the Comets NBL1 women’s team in the NBL East Conference. Peter is a 30-year journalist, starting as a sports reporter at the NT News in the early 1990s. He played junior basketball for the Northern Territory at national championships from U16 to U20 and for the Territory’s senior men’s team at numerous international tournaments. Peter has been a basketball fan since the early 80s, especially the NBA. Basketball is his passion — and his opinions his own. Email peter.brown@basketball.com.au with feedback. Any email feedback on articles sent to Peter can be published on basketball.com.au for others to read.