Burton evolves into one of the most important Opals

PERTH (2016 Rio Olympics) - Playing for Australia at an Olympic Games is a goal that Natalie Burton has had for a very long time. The 26-year-old is just several months away from achieving it.

Though Brendan Joyce says no player is a lock to make the squad, one can draw the conclusion that Burton is Rio-bound when the Opals coach gushes to FIBA.com about the player that brings a lot of fire and determination to the cause.

"She is 6ft 5in with long arms, a wing span of 6ft 8in," he said. "Nat is a great defensive player for the Opals. She seems to be even more aggressive with us on the offensive end the more she plays international ball."

So Burton, not the best known Opal, at least outside of Australia, is certainly one of the most important. She played 9 minutes in each of the Opals' victories over New Zealand at the 2013 FIBA Oceania Women's Championship and increased those numbers to almost 17mpg at the 2014 FIBA Women's World Championship in Turkey. At last year's FIBA Oceania Women's Championship, she averaged 24mpg.

Burton is getting better and better. It helps that she understands her role.

"My main focus is on rebounding and using my agility to run the floor hard," she said. "When I get these areas done successfully, other parts of my game come together."

She has been terrific this season with the Perth Lynx. The team is still in the WNBL title hunt and will play defending champions Townsville in the Semi-Finals with Round 1 on Sunday.

"With the new ownership this year, we have become the first fully professional team in the WNBL," Burton said. "We are all full-time athletes which means we can devote much more of our time to basketball."

It's helped Perth that not only Burton but another Opal, Tessa Lavey, joined the club last summer.

Burton has had a lot to occupy her thoughts with Perth, but also Australia. She travelled with the Opals to Brazil for the Olympic Test event last month. The Opals won all of their games, beating two sides that will be at the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament (WOQT), Argentina, Venezuela, and a Brazil side that will be at the Games.

"We were extremely lucky that we got to see first hand the Olympic venue and to play against Brazil themselves," Burton said.

Australia want to build on a successful 2014, when they finished third at the World Championship.

"With each training camp we compete in, and each international game we play, we are all gaining a huge amount of knowledge as players," Burton said.

The World Championship in 2014 was just the beginning for a lot of new players, and since then we have been lucky enough to continue our development through the Opals schedule. Each player's individual development through this international exposure only strengthens the Opals as a whole unit. - Burton

As sweet at the experience was for Australia in 2014, the one last summer was better. They got to play at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne in front of a huge crowd in the first game of the Oceania Championship.

The buildup was long and intense.

"It was the first time in years that both the Opals and the Boomers were playing back in Melbourne with a big TV deal on top of that," Burton said. "There was a lot of promotion so we knew there was going to be a big crowd. And we weren't disappointed."

I remember running out and literally feeling the atmosphere around us buzzing. We couldn't see the entire crowd due to the lighting, so it was a pretty surreal feeling because we could absolutely hear them cheering and supporting us. To be able to represent my country in front of so many fellow Australians was something that not many people get to experience and it is something I will never forget. - Burton

The Rio de Janeiro Games, though, would be an experience of a lifetime for Burton if she were to, as expected, make the team.

Burton (AUS) helped the Opals beat New Zealand to qualify for Rio 2016

"To make the Olympic team and be a part of the Rio Olympics has been on the top of my personal goals for a long time," she said.

I'll always remember growing up and watching the Olympics and being in awe of the athletes who were competing in the highest level of their sport... Now I find myself in that same position, and the thought of competing at the Olympics for my country sends chills down my spine. - Burton

FIBA