Tassie team, Chinese and WNBA imports to boost new WNBL season

Thursday night will mark the start of the second season of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) under new, private ownership, with the league hoping to build on some of the gains made.

Last season, crowd figures were up 43 per cent, and broadcast reach 130 per cent, but that did not stop the league making its CEO Jennie Sager redundant, in a restructure it said would bring the men's and women's codes under one umbrella.

Sager later called the decision "genuinely disappointing", arguing that "women's sport leagues are strongest when they have dedicated leadership and a staff that wakes up every day solely focused on driving them forward".

Under the 2026/27 leadership model, retired Opals star Lauren Jackson has a key role as Chief Strategy and Basketball Partnerships Officer, and said she was buoyed by the change the consortium of owners had brought.

"Being privatised has been super important for the league in the way we are growing and going through a new phase," Jackson told ABC Sport.

"It has been a long time coming, but it's very exciting.

"I take a lot of pride in the league and feel very honoured that I get to work in it."

Now in its 47th edition, the WNBL is the oldest women's professional league in Australia, with Jackson saying she was passionate about giving back to domestic basketball.

"The sport has given me so much," she said.

"My legacy off the court is about getting back and building [the WNBL] to a point in Australia where it is sustainable, where it's providing young women with the opportunities that we really had to work and work hard for."

Jackson referenced the league's most recent collective bargaining agreement (CBA) as evidence of that progress, which awarded players a 104 per cent increase in minimum wages.

"The visibility piece is happening globally [and] the sport is taking off," she said.

Chinese and WNBA imports a drawcard

Aiding in its aspirations for new audiences, the first game of the WNBL season will feature new franchise the Tasmania Jewels, following the success of 2024 NBL champions the JackJumpers.

The Jewels will host the Geelong Venom in Hobart, led by Opal Steph Reid.

The league has also been buoyed by the signing of Chinese national team players including Shuyu Yang (Canberra Capitals) and Siyu 'Rainy' Yang (Southside Flyers), while 211-cm Han Xu will return for Geelong, having played for Perth Lynx last season.

"We want to be leaders in the Asia Pacific in particular, so being able to have Chinese representation here, and to be able to have some of the best players in the world who are competing in the WNBA, has been really, really good," Jackson said.

Former rookie of the year Jaz Shelley said she was embracing the prospect of further international competition.

"It's really exciting, it has become a global game; we have some unreal American imports and then we have the Chinese coming in, it's just so cool to have players from all different areas, and for the game to be developing," she told ABC Sport.

This season, Shelley has made the move to join coach Renee Garlepp at the Sydney Flames, whose season will launch against the Flyers.

Manuela Puoch has joined the Canberra Capitals, where she will play alongside her older sister, Nyadiew Puoch.

"She said it'll be intense, it'll be fun, she's next door to me," Manuela Puoch said.

And after after having been drafted by the New York Liberty with the 41st pick in the 2026 WNBA draft, her sights are set on the world's top league.

"[My long-term aspirations] are definitely to go to New York, and just keep developing as a player and a person," she said.