Jackson’s bold vision for WNBL growth

Women's sport all across Australia and the world is experiencing a huge amount of growth, and the WNBL is no different.

This was highlighted by the WNBL26 Finals Series having a 34 per cent increase in attendance compared to the previous season.

Combine that with the addition of the Tasmania Jewels to the League during the 2026-27 campaign and the sport's arrow is pointing up.

Australia's best-ever women's basketballer and the WNBL's Chief Strategy and Basketball Partnerships Officer Lauren Jackson believes, despite all the positive momentum around the League, that there is still a huge amount of growth for the sport in this country.

"I've said this before publicly, I don't think anyone nationally has done women's sport right," Jackson said to basketball.com.au.

"I don't think any of the domestic leagues have, and a part of that is that we've always sort of catered to the men's game and gone, 'Right, here's the model, let's make it work over here.' And it's different. It's just fundamentally different."

Further to that, the five-time Olympian believes the WNBL has an opportunity to redefine how women's sport is marketed and promoted in Australia.

"In terms of how we sort of look at what we do next and how we're going to market the League, it's all got to come from a place of looking at what's happened in the WNBA and how the athletes have their platform," she said.

"[Then looking] how the WNBA can help sort of elevate that as well, and the [same goes with the] WNBL obviously.

"It's going to be interesting to see how it all plays out, but I really think that we can become the premier women's sport in Australia."

The nine-team WNBL tips off on October 15 when the Tasmania Jewels play their first-ever game, hosting Geelong at MyState Bank Arena.

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