Year: 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 and prior
2004
LJ on the game - "No matter what else is going
on in my life I can go out on a basketball court and be somebody completely
different. Nobody really knows who you are, and when I'm on the court, I
feel like I'm in my element."
LJ on basketball - "I love it, whether we're winning or losing. There's
nothing like getting out there and getting sweaty and physical and dirty. There's
all that emotion. I could write a poem about it. It's such a beautiful sport."
LJ on the part of living in the US that sill freaks her out - "Driving on
the wrong side of the road. Orange cheese. And they have low-fat everything.
Even the most ridiculous things - like low-fat beer."
LJ on being Opals vice-captain - "This is a huge honour, and I'm really
happy. It's a role that I don't intend to take lightly, and I'll be working very
hard to do the best job I can possibly do."
LJ on monthly phone bills - "They're unbelievable. Ridiculous. They're usually
a couple of grand for the month. And they're all to my family. I owe my parents
so much money because I have their Telecard and the charges go back to them.
Oh my god, it's ridiculous. During the week, I'd spend three to four hours speaking
to them. I'll have to wait until my next cheque comes through to pay them back."
LJ on improving - "Oh yeah. My God! I'm only 22. I won't hit my peak until
I'm 28. I know there's a long way ahead and I need to work hard to get where
I want to be personally. I'm not there yet."
LJ on burnout - "Nah, I've got one of those unnatural loves for the sport.
I'll always be around it somehow. I won't be playing into my late 30s though.
My body won't be able to handle it."
LJ on dunking - "I dunked it when I was 18 when I was in Canberra. My coach
and I were working on it every day. Hardcore stuff. Now? There's no way I could
do it. My knees and shin have taken a beating over the past four years, so I
actually can't get up there. When I was a young thing, I could."
LJ in repsonse to being only 22 - "I know. But my legs have copped a battering.
But they're good legs. I'm happy with them. Hopefully they'll have a cure for
arthritis when I'm 40."
LJ on who inspires her - "When I was younger, Lisa Leslie inspired me a
whole lot. She was someone I looked up to and wanted to be like."
LJ on how crushing it was discovering what LL's really like - "Yeah, it
was. She's horrid. Well, no she's not. It's wrong to say that. I actually don't
know her because we've never had time for each other ... Wilt Chamberlain was
a hero of mine. So was Muhammad Ali. 'Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee'.
I hate boxing - but I love him."
LJ on Marilyn Manson - "No, I still love him. I always will. He still scares
me, though. I'd love to be friends with him because I've idolised him for too
long. But then I'd be too scared. I don't agree with everything he does."
LJ on the most extravagant piece of clothing in her wardrobe - "A pair of
drag queen shoes that are about seven inches high. I had them for my 21st birthday
party. The theme was Rocky Horror."
LJ on the Storm - "Last year was pretty huge and amazing and everything
else and I'm definitely going to strive to get it again and work as hard as I
can to do it, but if I can't, it won't be so bad if we can win a championship."
LJ on the Storm - "Every time I come in to camp, I'm thinking that (the
Finals), but I think this year we have much more of a bench and a much more solid
team. I think that's the one thing we've really struggled with. We've always
had our starters, but if anyone got injured, we didn't have a very big bench,
and I think now we do. It's very exciting."
LJ on her stay in Ekaterinburg - "Losing is always hard, and I didn't play
much. I didn't spend enough time with them, and I don't think I'll do that again.
I'd definitely go over there a lot earlier. But I think it was more to build
a relationship for the future."
LJ on Sue Bird - "She's tough, and she handles adversity really well. She
doesn't need to prove anything. She's Sue Bird."
LJ on herself - "I'd like to be as unnoticeable as a 6-5 person can be."
LJ on basketball - "I always dreamed of being a basketball player and living
the lifestyle."
LJ on her Storm teammates - "Can you believe after four years I'm still
the youngest person on this team? I'm trying to tell them what to do and they're
looking at me like, 'You know you're 10 years younger than me, right?'
LJ on her black shin guards/protectors - "I look like a geek but they're
great. It's the best I've felt in years - it just makes the pain feel so much
better."
LJ on her July 3 performance of 32 pts v Sacramento - "Eh, dude, I can play
better."
LJ on herself - "I'm 23 years old and I've got a very long career ahead.
My goal has always been to leave the basketball court and my career knowing that
I did something special and I achieved something special. I'd like to hear that
and I'd like to think that people would put me in that category, but I don't
think I'm the best player in the world."
LJ on herself and the WNBA - "Individually, there's a lot of great players
in this league. I'd just like to have done something a little bit special and
a little bit different."
LJ talking about the first time she saw Sue Bird, and confusing her with Adia
Barnes - "She was a little taller than I expected. Then I saw this little
guard run down and throw up a three and I said, 'Oh, that's Sue Bird.'"
LJ on Sue Bird - "Even in a dorky headband, she still looks cool. I'd do
anything for her, and I know she'd do anything for me. I trust her with my life."
LJ on Sue Bird - "She's amazing. So inspiring ... I couldn't imagine playing
with any other point guard in the league. She's awesome."
LJ on her rivalry with Lisa Leslie - "As big a rivalry as it is, I don't
lose sleep over it or anything."
LJ during the Athens Olympics - "I'm having treatment to my ankle. I was
injected a couple of days ago. It's an injury I brought into the games but I
will play, no problem."
LJ during the Athens Olympics - "I'd play the United States for the gold
any time."
LJ during the Athens Olympics - "I'm Australian through and through. I love
playing with my mates."
LJ on LL and the MVP title - "My time is going to come. I'm not worried.
I'd never bag her because I used to be so awestruck with her and wanted to be
like her when I was 16. But I'm glad I'm nothing like her on or off the court.
Anne (Donovan) is my role model, who I look up to."
Carrie Graf on LJ - "She's amazing -
she's a really graceful athlete, she's a determined athlete. When
you pay money to see her play you say 'that was value for money'.
You see her sweat a lot and see her swear a lot."
Carrie Graf on LJ after the preseason - "Look at one of the best players
in the world - 29 points in 26 minutes and she was 12-of-14 from the line. Lauren
doesn't get much better than that. I don't think we defended her particularly
well, but credit Lauren - that's a heck of a ballgame."
Tom Maher on Dandenong - "In big games
in the past Lauren Jackson has just intimidated them so badly. They
had nothing to beat her with, they didn't have a plan B or a plan
A for Jackson."
Tom Maher on the WNBL Grand Final - "In the history of the WNBL, there's
been a couple of upsets over the years, but usually the team that should win
has won it. Overwhelmingly it's gone with serve and I think Dandenong, at home,
they've had enough of losing, and there's no scary Lauren Jackson for them to
worry about."
Tom Maher on LJ during Opals v NZ series - "She's in another stratosphere
to us. You can't compare her. I thought Donna Loffhagan did a fabulous job on
Lauren on Tuesday night, and tonight I thought Aneka Kerr did wonderful help-defensive
job on her but she's still the most valuable player out there by a million miles.
We can't stop her, she's too good."
Michele Timms comparing LJ to Lisa Leslie
- "Jackson is different; her post moves aren't as refined, but
her mobility and outside game are phenomenal. She can shoot the three
like a guard and handle the ball like one. She plays great [defense]
in the paint as well. I think that Jacko will be supreme for sure
one day."
Michele Timms on LJ - "Lauren needs to be challenged; she needs someone
better to help her lift her game. She is competitive, and she wants to leave
the league as the greatest player ever, who will break all records. She has already
started, and she is only 22 or 23. She has great personal and team goals which
she isn't afraid to verbalize, and this is part of what is going to make her
one of the greatest players of all times."
Michele Timms on the WNBA All Star games - "Michael Cooper has, in my opinion,
treated Lauren Jackson really poorly in the last two All Star games. Back in
Washington last year, Lauren Jackson was clearly the MVP up until halftime. After
halftime, she sat on the bench for most of the second half after being the best
player. This year in New York, she didn't have a great first half but tell me
that some of these other centers deserve to get more court time than the MVP
of the league. In the second half, [Lisa] Leslie went down. Leslie was clearly
MVP up until halftime; she played great. But when Leslie went down, Lauren had
started finding her form. When Leslie went down, Cooper took her out and didn't
put her back on again. This is the second year in a row that at the All Star
game, Michael Cooper has held her down, in my opinion. Actually, not just my
opinion; quite a few others felt that way."
Michele Timms on her induction to the Sport Australia Hall of Fame - "As
to why me, why was I inducted when there is already a better player than Michele
Timms ever was out there in Lauren Jackson..."
Sue Bird on Storm training camp - "We
have 80,000 people in camp, which is fine by me. With LJ and myself
and Kamila, we'll be the core group. ... But we'll have a lot more
complementary people who can be stars on any given night."
Sue Bird on LJ after the preseason - "A lot of teams don't have an answer
for her and Phoenix is one of them. Obviously that was the big difference between
tonight's game and the first time we played them. She's good and she's picking
up right where she left off."
Sue Bird on LJ's season opener performance - "I don't think anyone was surprised
by it. It was just a matter of when she was going to do it. Luckily she did it
at the exact time we needed it. We kept going to her because we knew she would
pull through for us. And she just made some unbelievable shots. What are you
going to say? She was ridiculous."
Sue Bird on LJ after Storm 72 dft Phoenix 45 (June 3) - "If you really want
to know the story of two halves, it was Lauren. When she's aggressive and making
those shots, it doesn’t matter who is guarding her. We're a completely
different team when she is like that. That's the difference. For her to play
like that in the second half, if she hadn't, it would have been a close game
for sure.
Sue Bird on LJ after Storm 75 dft Sacramento 61 (July 3) - "When she's going
like that, you just want to get her the ball because she's like a machine out
there."
Sue Bird on LJ - "Even if she doesn't score a point, she still dominates
a game, just by being out there. You could say the same about Chamique and Tamika
and Lisa Leslie. To me, it's that Lauren's 23 and she's the youngest out of all
of them. I think the sky's the limit and she's just getting better."
Sue Bird on the quirkiest thing about LJ - "Her hair. I like all the different
styles she wears. I wish I could do that."
Anne Donovan on LJ and UMMC - "I think
she's frustrated for a lot of reasons of which she can tell you and
go into detail. She doesn't like to lose. That's probably the number
one thing on her mind right now."
Anne Donovan on LJ coming to training camp - "She's really eager to get
to Seattle. They lost the game. She called me, and said 'I'm on my way.' To hear
she was excited about that, I get excited about that."
Anne Donovan on LJ being even better this year - "Yes. It's hard to imagine,
it really is. I told her last year, the first week I worked out with her, she
was going to be MVP of the league, and she didn't buy it, didn't believe it.
It took her quite a while to get her arms around it last season, but once she
bought into it, she was MVP all the way. ... Lauren's not relinquishing that."
Anne Donovan on LJ arriving at camp - "Everything changed when she walked
in the gym last night, everybody couldn't wait for the drill to stop to come
over and see her. There's just a calming presence for everybody to know that
help is here."
Anne Donovan on LJ - "There are no words for Lauren Jackson, her passion
for this game. She is the MVP of this league and she will remain the MVP of this
league because of what drives her. Tremendous skill level, but it's what drives
her that sets her apart. There's no better player to coach for me. It's a coach's
dream to have somebody like that."
Anne Donovan on LJ - "It's contagious for other players. When you've got
your superstar that wants to be on the floor, wants to go through drills when
I'm telling her she doesn't have to practice until she feels like that, that
sends a message to everybody else: 'It's a passion for her and it better be a
passion for me.'"
Anne Donovan on UMMC and LJ - "I hate to talk about coaches losing their
jobs, but how do you bring in a player for that kind of money (and not use her)?.
In one situation, they played her in the second half, she scored 16 points, they
took her out with 40 seconds left and they lose by one. I don't know how to comment
on that."
Anne Donovan on LJ at training camp - "She was determined, she had a couple
of - in her mind - bad days in practice. She perceives not making every shot
as a bad day. She came in with Jessie Kenlaw, worked out twice, they were determined
to get her shooting touch back, and it showed - the work paid off."
Anne Donovan on LJ after the preseason - "She's mighty good, isn't she?
There's not words. What can you say about someone with that kind of ability that
makes it look simple? Double- and triple-teamed, getting hacked, three-point
plays, going to the line and knocking them down there. A lot of the game they
played smallball, which left a smaller player on Lauren most times, which forced
them to bring a second and third player and she was still able to score over
that."
Anne Donovan on LJ after season opener - "Lauren's fire and passion and
drive will keep her ahead of the pack. That and her work ethic set her apart
from most every other player. She challenges herself to get better all the time.
What she does is never good enough.''
Anne Donovan on LJ - "There's already a maturity that I didn't see in Lauren
last year. And I need her leadership this year."
Anne Donovan on LJ - "There's no question that Lauren is the best player.
Her versatility, her strength and her power game when she goes inside, and her
ability to shoot the three and put the ball on the floor and defend set her apart
from any other player in this league."
Anne Donovan on LJ - "Then you throw in that she's 6-5 and she's 23 years
old. There's not a player I take over Lauren if I'm starting my roster."
Anne Donovan on LJ - "What I didn't know is how coachable she is. What better
piece of clay to have than Lauren, and she can do it all. She continues to prove
to everyone why she's an MVP and will continue to be one of the greatest players."
Anne Donovan on LJ - "I can't imagine what would keep Lauren from playing.
Her injuries would keep most people down."
Anne Donovan on LJ going into the Olympic break - "She's the best three-pointer
shooter in the league (47.4%), she can mix it up in the low post and is one of
the best defensive players, and she's just reaching her potential. It's hard
to believe that she could get better, but she's only 23."
Anne Donovan on Athens - "The only difficult and challenging part was, when
Lauren was struggling during that gold-medal game, not being able to coach her
a little bit. That was hard."
Anne Donovan on the media for choosing MVP - "I think the media has to get
out and see the games live. The number of times Lauren takes a hit, the energy
she brings, you can't figure that out on TV. Everyone can make a videotape of
highlights, but it won't capture what they bring to the game."
Adia Barnes on LJ showing up at training camp
- "I was surprised to see her this early on two, three hours
of sleep. It shows the dedication of an MVP. That's awesome."
Adia Barnes on LJ and Bird - "Sue and Lauren are the most down-to-earth
people, you forget they're stars. They're so humble, which makes them so special."
Janell Burse on her position with the Storm
- "If I have to play behind Lauren Jackson, that's fine; she's
Lauren Jackson. It shows a lot of respect when someone wants you
to come and backup the MVP of the WNBA."
Diana Taurasi on LJ - "She is the real
deal. No joke, at all. What people say is true – she's amazing.
She really is."
Diana Taurasi on LJ - "Lauren is probably the best player I've played against,
hands down. That just shows she comes from basketball blood. She was born for
this."
Dawn Staley on the USA's prospects at Olympics
- "If there were four other Lauren Jacksons in Australia we
would really be in trouble, but there is only one of her."
Jan Stirling on LJ - "Lauren is part
of our 'leadership group' and she too will bring some excellent skills
to the vice captaincy. The fact that Lauren will have the opportunity
to learn from Trish will certainly hold the 'Price Attack' Opals
program in good stead for years to come."
Jan Stirling on LJ - "Her passion and desire to win with her fearless physical
combat is something special. She brings the same level of tenacious intensity
and desire to win no matter what uniform she puts on. Lauren dominates the league
wherever she plays and makes that team in competition for the championship."
Jan Stirling on LJ - "There have been marvellous players over the years
but there are very few players who can bring to the table what she brings. Each
season, she creates a new piece of history for herself. So, it’s an open
book at the moment."
Sheri Sam on LJ - "Sometimes she's
a little too humble. She hates for you to even mention she's an MVP.
I tell her she should be more cocky and confident out there. She
should have that air; she earned it. But you have to make her mad
and then she'll turn on you in a second. I've seen it. I've seen
that look she gets."
Cynthia Cooper on LJ - "Lauren Jackson
is maturing before our very eyes, and the Seattle Storm, they're
reaping the benefits of her maturity right now."
Cynthia Cooper on LJ - "There aren't many 6-5 players who can do the things
that she does. Not only can she shoot the three-pointer and play with her back
to the basket, but she has something most of the other post players don't have.
She has one of the quickest first steps I've ever seen. She has the quickness
of a guard, and that's incredibly difficult for another post player to try and
stop and defend."
Van Chancellor on LJ - "Shot-blocker.
Rebounder. Runs the floor. She has no known weakness in her game,
and she's still young. She reminds me a lot of Cynthia Cooper in
the will to win and the right absolute mixture of confidence and
I-ain't-gonna-take-nothin'-from-nobody."
Van Chancellor on the Storm - "I don't think there's any doubt they've got
enough firepower to win a championship. Let me temper that by saying it's at
playoff time that you have to be playing your best basketball. But right now,
they've got a great, great player in Lauren Jackson."
Tully Bevilaqua on LJ - "I think people
sometimes perceive her as having a chip on her shoulder or something
like that. But she's far from that. She's one of the best players
in the world, and you've got to have that chip. But she just wants
to win."
Jessie Kenlaw (Storm assistant coach) on
LJ and Bird - "Lauren and Sue have that confidence and comfort
level between each other. I guess a way to describe it is as magical.
It didn't come automatic. They built that trust, and now it's at
a point where it's perfect."
Nancy Lieberman on LJ - "Lauren Jackson
is an alien. I'm not sure what planet she came from, but she is that
good. She is as good as I have ever seen. She leads the league in
3-point shooting percentage, she is strong, her body is mature and
filled out, she is a tremendous rebounder and just a smart player.
Anne has worked with her on her strength and her post moves, so I
don't see any players in the world surpassing her. I like everything
about her game and the person that she is. She is absolutely marvelous
for our sport."
Nancy Lieberman on LJ and Coach Donovan - "Nothing against Lisa Leslie or
Yolanda Griffith (and I say this both in truth and in jest), but the best posts
in the west are Lauren Jackson and Anne Donovan. Lauren is versatile and Annie
is a Hall of Famer. That's a pretty cool combination, because Lisa and Yolanda
can't stop Anne from giving Lauren knowledge. How can you defend that?"
Phil Brown on LJ - "She grew up in
the culture of basketball, she grew up in a basketball family. The
game flows around her body so much and she also saw the competitive
nature of basketball (at an early age)."
Phil Brown on LJ - "If her body can hold out the durability and longevity,
she will be at her best (at) 28 and 29, and will hopefully keep working on the
game, making small improvements at offence and defence."
Phil Brown on LJ - "Jackson's 6'5 frame moves like a 6' player. She has
good speed and agility and fantastic eye hands coordination. For her it is her
whole package that makes her special, extraordinary rather that ordinary. Lauren
has used what she got to the maximum. She has fire in her belly."
