Lauren Jackson has officially retired from her second basketball chapter according to Code Sports.
Jackson ended her Hall of Fame career in 2016 prematurely due to multiple injuries. She coached the Albury-Wodonga Bandits during their first NBL1 season in the South conference during 2019, then made her on-court comeback in 2022 -- signing with the now NBL1 East’s Bandits and winning the inaugural championship.
During her second basketball career, she won the 2022 NBL1 East MVP, was named a conference All-Star Five, won bronze at the 2022 Women’s FIBA World Cup in Sydney, won her seventh WNBL championship and finished her national team career on a high winning bronze in the Paris Olympics.
In two seasons with her hometown club, she played 27 games averaging 33.2 points, 14 rebounds and 1.3 blocks across the 2022 and 2024 seasons.
Jackson’s return to basketball will be one of the great sports stories during this decade, and her success was rejuvenated through the NBL1.
After a full right knee replacement in September, the GOAT has officially ruled out another comeback.
“Oh no, I’m done,” Jackson told Code Sports.
“I am well and truly done, no more basketball for me.”
The 43-year-old will continue to make her impact on the sport in other ways, working as a newly appointed part-time Special Advisor and continuing her work with the She Hoops program.
“I’m still going through everything in my brain but I’m coming through it now,” she said.
“The last three years have been epic. The Olympic bronze medal, the WNBL championship, World Cup bronze, the NBL1 championship, to come back in three years and do all that, rupture my Achilles, have lisfranc surgery, I’ve proven so much to myself.
“The friendships I’ve made and what I was able to be a part of, I’ll never take it for granted.”
The NBL1 East starts March 29th. Stay up-to-date with all the latest signings via the Roster Tracker here.
Read the full story via Code Sports here.
