Lauren Elizabeth Jackson

Full Name: Lauren Elizabeth Jackson Nicknames: Los and Loza; DOB: 11.08.81; Place of Birth: Albury, NSW; Position: forward and centre; Home Town: Albury, Australia; Clubs: Washington Members of WNBL Championship team in 2000, sliver medalist; named MVP of WNBA; Teams WNBL: Canberra Capitals, Seattle Storm; Country Played: Australian Opals; Country No.: 11; Weight: 90kg; Height: 195cm; Shoe size: 13; Education: Lake Ginninderra College, (Canberra ACT) she completed Yr 12, then went into La Trobe University studying Business Management; Coach: Anne Donovan (Sydney morning Herald); Hobbies: Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, Sarah McLachlan, watching TV and writing poetry; Fav athlete: Muhammed Ali, (Aka Cassius Clay): Fav movies: The Neverending Story, Wizard of Oz, Rocky Horror, Dirty Dancing and Grease; Fav TV shows: Passions; Language: Japanese (well, she can at least count up to 10); Injury: a painful shoulder ache; International Debut: 1997 she played for Australia against USA; Career Highlights: played for WNBAL Champion Canberra in 1990-2000 and 2001; Most influential person: her mum; Most admired person: her mum Sponsors: Quantas, Champion, Yakult and many other sponsors.

Sporting relatives: Mum and Dad. Jackson has a family of four and they are: Her Mum, Maree, who played WNBL and for the Louisiana State University from 1976-1978. In one season she scored 1021 points, a record that still stands st her school. The LSU single-season record holder is Pete Maravich. During 2 years of collegiate career, Maree averaged 26.4 and 14.7 rebounds per game for the Tigers. Her Dad Gary,represented Australian basketball on national teams.

Why this sport? her parents got her into basketball but she wasn't forced. When she was two she made a statement she would play basketball for Australia. When did she start basketball? She started when she was 4 years old. She was already very tall at 5'6" and at the age of 13 she was 5'11" Lauren is so close to her mum that one of her two tattoos, is a clover with the word "MUM" on her lower back. "My parents taught me everything about life and basketball," she says. Jackson wears jersey no. 15 in honour of her mum’s old college uniform number.

Jackson has played many games. Some highlights are: A game high 21 points and 6 boards in a WNBA win over Phoenix. In the 2000 Olympics she scored 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Opals to a silver medal.

Lauren has won many honours and achievements through basketball: She was a member of Australia's under 21 team when she was 14. In 1997 she became the youngest memeber at the age of 16 to play in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). When she was 17 she became the youngest Australian woman to complete at a major international competition. Jackson then joined the Opals at the age of 17, then she helped the Opals win bronze at World Championships. After Lauren played 200 games, she then entered first round 2001 WNBA draft, becoming the third international player to be selected the Number 1 overall pick by the Seattle Storm. When she was 19 she led the host country to a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney games aganst the Americans. Lauren was the most valuable player for 2003 in WNBA. She became the first youngest non American player to win. She was the youngest in league history to reach 1000-1500 points and the top scorer for league. Jackson was named to the 2003 All WNBA first team and to All-Star team 2002 World Championships in China. She was also named the Australia Junior Female Athlete of the year. Lauren has won the International basketball Federation's Most Valuable Player award on 2003 World Cup.