SPRINGFIELD (USA) - The basketball gods have put on an exclamation mark on the remarkable career of Lauren Jackson. A World Cup winner of 2006, one who led Australia to numerous podium finishes at other events, Jackson made more history as the first player from Down Under - man or woman - to be inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Jackson has joined legendary coach Lindsay Gaze as the only Australians to be enshrined.

The Ambassador for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2022 in Sydney, Jackson is in lockdown in Australia as the country battles the coronavirus pandemic and could not attend her induction ceremony in Springfield, Massachusetts, yet she did send a videotaped message.

A sublime talent dating back to her days as a teenager, Jackson made the most of it with an unrivaled fighting spirit and sense of purpose that netted her titles and various prestigious awards.

With the Seattle Storm in the WNBA, Jackson helped led the team to two titles, while also scooping up league MVP honors three times. In her 12 seasons, Jackson  made the  All-WNBA First Team a whopping seven times. 

Back home in Australia with the Canberra Capitals of the WNBL, Jackson led the team to  five championships and netted the league MVP award four times.

There was never a doubt in her teenage years that Jackson was going to be special.

She was the youngest player on the Australia team that finished runners-up at the World Championship for Junior Women 1997 and thrived at that tournament in Brazil. The following year, at 18, she appeared in the first of her four FIBA Women's Basketball World Cups and averaged 10.9 points and 3.9 rebounds as the Opals finished third.

Eight years later Jackson was the unstoppable force as Australia won the World Cup in Brazil.

Jackson celebrated Australia's crowning moment in Brazil as World Cup winners in 2006

In the games she played - be they Olympics, World Cup, WNBA, WNBA or EuroLeague Women - Jackson never played second fiddle to any opponent and was usually the best player on the court.

She blended power with finesse. She possessed a shooting touch that made her almost impossible to guard.

Though Jackson went on scoring rampages and was a double-double machine in points and rebounds, she was never selfish. The New South Wales native seemed to always raise the level of her teammates, while the likes of Opals point guard Kristi Harrower and forward Penny Taylor also helped Jackson play at her best.

On the Olympic stage, Jackson claimed silver medals at Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, and bronze at the London 2012 Olympics.

It was at that competition in Britain, too, where Jackson cemented her status as the greatest scorer in Olympic history. When she left London, her final Olympics, Jackson ranked number one with 575 points scored in 32 games.

In her Hall of Fame speech, Jackson acknowledged the teams that she played for and also thanked family and friends, teammates and Basketball Australia.

She also paid tribute to the supporters Down Under, in America and the rest of the world.

"To the fans that supported me throughout my career and the teams that I was on, thank you," she said. "Women's basketball is such a beautiful sport and we are so lucky to have your support. That roar from the fans every time I set foot on the court is something that I will forever miss."

FIBA