Updated ,first published
Opals captain and WNBA star Ezi Magbegor has opened up about her battle to be fit for the women’s FIBA World Cup, and says the Opals can match their mega-star USA rivals should the new-look Australian team advance deep into the tournament.
The Opals, bronze medallists at the Paris Olympics, begin their World Cup campaign in Berlin on Friday night (AEST), when they face Puerto Rico in the first of three group C games. Turkey (ranked 16th) and Belgium (fifth) then await.
Magbegor, the hero of that 2024 bronze-medal game with 30 points and 17 rebounds, has had a frustrating year, after she partially tore her Achilles in a World Cup qualifying game against Hungary in March, forcing her to miss the opening 20 games of the Seattle Storm’s WNBA campaign. It was the longest injury spell the dynamic forward, and longest-tenured current Storm player, has ever had.
“It was different. I think I also was maybe worried about how I would kind of respond to a long-term injury just because I didn’t know what it would be like,” Magbegor, who was announced as captain by coach Sandy Brondello on Thursday, told this masthead from Seattle.
“But, I think just having been around it [the sport] and knowing I was going back to Seattle and having some comfort and familiarity, I think was something that just helped me as well. And having confidence in the medical [team] from the VIS [Victorian Institute of Sport] as well, they were communicating with me throughout the whole process.
“And so just taking everything day by day and kind of looking back on weeks and months and realising that there were definitely more good than bad days, and like you’re gonna have bad days during rehab but, yeah, I think just having a common goal with the medical staff and with everyone around me really helped as well.”
It was during this period that the former Melbourne Boomer and Canberra Capitals WNBL player became a more vocal team leader. Quietly spoken, Magbegor has always led by deed, but at 27, she now has the wisdom to advise by word. That includes with Opals teammate Jade Melbourne, the brilliant emerging guard back with the Storm for a second spell.
“I don’t think I’m the most like vocal leader, but I think being injured also provided me a way to kind of like pour into my teammates or lead like while not being on the court because I think it’s easier for me to just be on the court and kind of help out my teammates in that way,” Magbegor said.
“And so I think it was a challenge to be on the bench and kind of see the game a little bit differently and see my teammates and what they needed at different moments, and so kind of like leaning into that leadership style a little bit more.”
The joy at being back on court didn’t last long though, for four games in, Magbegor broke her nose and was concussed in a rebounding collision. She has since re-broken the nose, and will don a mask through the World Cup, where the Opals will look to defend their bronze medal of Sydney four years ago.
That Magbegor made it her mission to return for the World Cup cannot be underestimated, for her on-court savvy and athleticism will be needed in a revitalised team under the guidance of veteran mentor Brondello. That she has been named captain highlights the esteem with which she is held.
Lauren Jackson, arguably this country’s greatest-ever basketballer, former captain Tess Madgen and fellow veterans Cayla George (pregnant) and Sami Whitcomb (injured) won’t be there, the Opals turning a new page.
It’s no surprise that the USA, the Paris gold medallists and defending four-time World Cup champions, remain the team to beat. A new-look team comprising the likes of mega stars Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese, in for their first major senior championship, has given the tournament even more marketing power.
But the rise of the WNBA, complete with this season’s landmark seven-year collective bargaining agreement which has led to salaries regularly eclipsing $1.4 million, has ensured rival nations are stronger.
At least 10 of the 16 nations at the World Cup have WNBA players, including an Opals unit which has Magbegor on a three-year, $US3.75 million “super max” deal, Melbourne on a one-year deal worth $US500,000, Alanna Smith (Dallas Wings) on a three-year, $US3.75 million “super max” deal, Isobel Borlase (Atlanta Dream) on a rookie contract of $US67,249, Stephanie Talbot (Las Vegas Aces) on a one-year $US392,500 deal and Chloe Bibby (Minnesota Lynx) on a one-year $US270,000 deal.
As a result, Brondello wants her players to “be brave and have no fear”. This will suit Magbegor, a four-time All-Defensive Team selection who had her best WNBA campaign came in 2023, when she was an All-Star and averaged 13.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists.
“I think we had a little taste of that in Turkey [at FIBA qualifiers] as well, and so that was my first time playing that sort of style, and I really enjoyed it,” Magbegor said.
“And I think it’s something that a lot of people enjoy, and just with the players that we have, I think it’ll really benefit a lot of us just getting out in transition, and you know allowing our defence to kind of start that offence as well.”
Should the Opals advance into the knockout rounds, the US, in group D, may await. The Opals were beaten 85-64 by their arch-rivals in a semi-final at the Paris Games, but Australian basketball great Penny Taylor told this masthead last month the Opals have the talent to beat any nation at the World Cup.
Magbegor says the Opals would match up well on the US in what would be a dream billing for basketball in this country.
“Yeah, for sure. Our guards are definitely, I think, familiar with their game as well. Just being able to play against them in the WNBA as well, and I think they’re a younger team than previous USA teams, and so I think it’ll be a good match,” Magbegor said.
“I think it’ll be great for Australia to kind of have those names headline the World Cup. And, yeah, if we do get there against the US, I think it’ll be a pretty big game globally. Yes, but yeah, just got to get through the first stages.”
ESPN will broadcast the tournament.
‘Considering the consequences’: NBL holds court over agitating clubs
Two National Basketball League clubs have failed in an appeal hearing before the NSW Supreme Court to have the league hand over financial documentation they claim highlighted governance issues.
The Illawarra Hawks, owned by Crest Entertainment and billionaire Jared Novelly, and South East Melbourne Phoenix, led by multi-millionaire majority owner Romie Chaudhari, had taken the NBL, run by prominent businessman Larry Kestelman, to court as part of a wider bid to shed light on the league’s inner workings.
Their initial case, and now subsequent appeal, were unsuccessful, although the two clubs and league differ on the intricacies of the verdict given on Thursday by NSW Chief Justice Andrew Bell, Justice Mark Leeming and Acting Justice John Griffiths.
“The court has now twice confirmed what the NBL has maintained throughout; that these proceedings should never have been commenced, and this dispute should have been addressed through the agreed grievance processes, not the courts. The proceedings constitute a breach of the licence agreement, and the NBL is now considering the consequences of the judgment,” the NBL said in a statement on Thursday.
“The court’s decision confirms the league’s original position and draws a line under this chapter of the proceedings. It reinforces the need for all parties to respect their contractual obligations and act within the proper governance of the league.”
However, Crest Entertainment said the court’s ruling “turned on the interpretation of a technical aspect of a single clause in the licence agreement between NBLCo and its licensee clubs to the effect that the clubs could not challenge NBLCo’s conduct through the courts”.
Crest maintains the league continues “to hide behind a veil of secrecy”.
“The decision today, and the earlier decision of the Supreme Court, should not be misrepresented as an exoneration of NBLCo’s conduct, which the court has not examined,” the Crest statement said.
As revealed by this masthead last week, a Basketball Australia-led investigation into the NBL found the league had made “mistakes” and had a year to make changes and rebuild trust with clubs. The league says many of these governance matters have been addressed.
The Hawks, Phoenix and Perth Wildcats still have their case before the sport’s governing body, FIBA, and have ongoing mediation with the league over travel costs. The NBL has taken its case against the clubs to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Kestelman rescued the NBL when he bought the ailing competition in 2015, and has morphed it into a thriving league where glamour club Melbourne United has been valued at $50 million.
Nine, the owner of this masthead, is the free-to-air broadcaster of the NBL. The new season begins on September 19.
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Jon Pierik is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X or email.