Thompson excited to get back to “fun” basketball after decorated WNBL career

After retiring from the WNBL three years ago, Olivia Thompson was not sure if she would ever play basketball again.

In fact, her big break from the game included a stint for Garville in the SA Netball Premier League.

Then, a call from South Adelaide NBL1 Central Women’s coach Richard Dickel changed everything.

Not only is Thompson back to playing basketball this year, but she is also back to enjoying it too.

“When I look at my basketball career, I feel like I’ve achieved as much as I could,” the 28-year-old says.

“It’s good to play basketball on the side now and just enjoy it and have fun.

“I’m probably enjoying basketball more now because I’m so relaxed.”

In her early days, relaxing was hard to come by.

Before she even finished Year 12, she had already packed her bags and moved out to the AIS in Canberra to complete her schooling while also working on her basketball craft.

It was there where she had a big wake-up call.

Not only was she living away from her childhood home and doing her own chores, but her debut game for the AIS came against an intimidating opponent.

“I’ll never forget my first game,” Thompson says as she reflects on the big occasion.

“I came up against Lauren Jackson when she was playing for the Canberra Capitals.

“I still have the picture where I was guarding her as a little kid, I didn’t know what she was going to do.

“I’m pretty sure she dropped 50 points on us while helping myself and the AIS girls during the game.

“She was telling us where to go and what to do because she was in her prime then.

“It was all a bit of a learning curve, but it was fun.”

But as daunting as the prospect of playing against the Aussie basketball legend was, it only made Thompson hungrier to join Jackson in the country’s elite competition.

Instead of heading over to the States to play college basketball as most up-and-coming ballers do, her coach, Phil Brown, recommended that she go straight to the WNBL instead.

With that, her WNBL career began when she played 27 games for the Townsville Fire in the 2012-13 season, averaging 7.7 points from 16.9 minutes.

She also played in two consecutive WNBL Grand Finals, but unfortunately fell short on both occasions.

In 2014, Thompson made the move to the Melbourne Boomers where she stayed until 2017.

Her third and final WNBL club was the Perth Lynx, meaning Thompson never had the opportunity to play elite-level basketball in her own state.

She says this was a big factor in her retirement.

“(Leaving the WNBL) was on my own terms,” Thompson says.

“I’m from Adelaide yet I never really played for Adelaide.

“I just wanted to come home and I’m glad I did because I’m really enjoying my lifestyle now.”

Thompson’s lifestyle includes a house, a full-time job, a fiancé and a bit of basketball on the side, which is just how the star forward likes it.

The Balaklava native is looking forward to an exciting year ahead in all aspects of her life, especially with South Adelaide.

“We’re pretty much ready to go, we’ve trained really hard,” Thompson says.

“We’ve added a fitness coach in our pre-season and that’s helped us girls get fit and ready for the season.

“It’s already helped us because in some of the practice matches, we’ve been able to outrun teams.

“I’m really looking forward to the season starting and seeing what we can do.

“I’m pretty confident we should do well.

“We’ve done all the preparation we can do so now it’s just about leaving it all out on the court.”

The Panthers’ first test comes against crosstown rivals North Adelaide in an unmissable clash on Saturday night.