What are we going to see on court?

First, you’ll see a hard edge from these Opals. Brondello wants them to be tough to play against, above all else. They want to be disruptive, and use their defence to create their offence. They want to move the ball with penetration from their guards, and shooting from all players, anchored by a dominant inside presence.

All of that will be built on a bedrock that Brondello calls the “point-five mentality”. She’s referring to the choice that faces every single Opal within half a second of winning the ball.

“You’ve got three options – you’re either shooting it, you’re driving it, or you’re passing it – but make the decision quick, so the ball doesn’t stick.”

Loading

What else? Brondello is a big believer in “good to great”. It’s an offensive doctrine but a selfless one – coined by the San Antonio Spurs during their golden era.

Those Spurs were blessed with “the big three” – Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili – but often attribute their NBA success to a simple sharing philosophy: “Pass up a good shot, in order to set up a great shot”.

(Brondello even made her own addendum, too, with “paint to great” – a reminder to the girls to drive hard and get their feet in the key, in order to push the ball back out to three point shooters in the open.)

That’s the plan at least. Talent will do the rest. “We have great versatility. We have toughness, defence, shooting. We have everything now,” Brondello says. “I believe in the players we have.” About those players…

Who are the Opals potential starting five?

The late addition of WNBA players to the mix makes it difficult to know what the best starting combination will be. Brondello isn’t shy about chopping and changing line-ups either, and is also known to favour experience in her squads. Whether that translates to an older five on the floor is anyone’s guess, but here’s mine…

American by birth, Sami Whitcomb is an elite shooter who earned her career the hard way, at first playing in Australia to keep her career alive, before dominating and eventually finding her way in the WNBA. At 36, she’s an Opals veteran who treasures that opportunity and honour.

Stephanie Talbot has battled her fair share of knee injuries, but the Los Angeles Sparks forward is an elite defensive player and solid scorer. She was a pivotal performer at the World Cup in 2022, and is also a key leader and cultural driver.

It’s all in the blood for Alanna Smith, the daughter of NBL veteran Darren Smith and niece of former Boomers captain Jason Smith. The young forward struggled for minutes in previous international campaigns, but was on fire with the Minnesota Lynx this season, and could be ready for a breakout Olympics.

Ezi Magbegor might be the next big thing in Aussie women’s basketball. Playing with the Seattle Storm in the WNBA, she’s clearly begun to understand her own dominance as a blocking force. Not for nothing, Lauren Jackson believes Magbegor can be – and perhaps is already – “the best defensive player in the world”.

Speaking of the GOAT, she’s back. Again. Having overcome a gruesome lisfranc injury earlier this year, Lauren Jackson returns to the Opals for a fifth Olympic campaign. The 43-year-old single mum is fit, and fierce as ever. She knows she’s not the player she used to be, but she could yet be a starter.

“LJ” told this masthead recently that she can still drop a fadeaway jumper, still throw her weight around on court, and still contribute confidence, leadership, and belief, especially when the game is in the balance. “Those big pressure moments,” she said, nodding. “I’ve been in a few of them.”

Who else can turn a game?

The emotional captain Tess Madgen was in tears the night this Opals squad was selected in Melbourne. The team’s spiritual leader played a dominant role in the rebuilding of the Opals culture following a disastrous 2021, and is now looking forward to seeing how far it can take them.

Cayla George is a 35-year-old centre with plenty left in the tank. Reinvigorated in the past two years following the birth of her daughter Pearl — given to her by a relative through the Torres Strait tradition of “island adoption” – George is a culture driver, and WNBA champion in 2023.

Kristy Wallace made a strong start to her WNBA career before serious injury struck her down. She’s rehabbed well, however, and been on the bench recently for the Indiana Fever. That’s no slight on her either – it’s hard to get on court when you’re the backup for Caitlin Clark.

After breaking into the WNBL at 16, Jade Melbourne was in the WNBA at 18. Now 21, the Washington Mystics guard is a natural passer who sees the court, brings players with her, and is capable of anything.