![Lauren Jackson has signed a new WNBL deal. Picture: Getty Images Lauren Jackson has signed a new WNBL deal. Picture: Getty Images](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/j2iwCiKfwhVWJky39Vsdpt/c4386740-a191-4fb8-8a57-247dba2c22f2.jpg/r0_85_6340_3664_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The good news for basketball fans is that Lauren Jackson, Australia's greatest basketballer, is making a WNBL comeback this year.
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The bad news, at least for Canberra Capitals fans, is that she will be playing for someone else, ending more than 20 years of having the city as her only WNBL base.
Jackson, 41, will go head to head with the club she helped build, signing a deal with the Southside Flyers on Wednesday morning to become one of Canberra's biggest rivals.
It will add another chapter
The Flyers will unveil Jackson, 41, as their marquee recruit on Wednesday morning, adding another chapter to her comeback tale as she prepares to reignite her international career.
The Capitals had reached out to Jackson to gauge her interest about returning to the city six years after injuries forced her to retire early and crippled her WNBL ambitions.
Jackson's only WNBL experience is in Canberra, helping the AIS win a historic title in 1998-99 and then carving a glittering career with the Capitals.
It ended on a sour note, however, when knee problems ruined her playing options and forced the parties to split before the end of her contract during the 2015-16 season.
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Jackson's game time was limited in the back end of her career because of injuries.
The injuries were so bad she was forced to retire before the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, but time away from the court has given the superstar a chance to play the game she loves again.
She started her comeback with Albury in the NBL1 this year and impressed enough to earn a World Cup call up to join the Australian Opals.
The Capitals were one of several teams to reach out to Jackson to offer her a WNBL opportunity, but she has chosen to play in Melbourne instead of where she has spent the bulk of her basketball career.
"When I started serious training again back in November last year, I took it slowly, as I knew I had to get as strong as I possibly could," Jackson said.
"I honestly didn't know if my body was going to hold up to the intense training, but it has and I'm feeling great.
"It has been an incredible year, firstly having the opportunity to play in my home community with the Albury-Wodonga Bandits and then being selected in the Opals squad for the World Cup and now making a return to the WNBL, Australia's top women's basketball competition.
"I am really enjoying this opportunity and feel the comeback is now complete.
"Obviously I am looking forward to once again playing for the Opals and now, with this decision, it is beyond September, and I am excited to be a part of the Flyers team and working with the players to help them with their games and of course make us a better team."
Jackson was a fan favourite in Canberra for her entire career, drawing massive crowds and using the city as a base between stints overseas in the United States, Europe and Asia.
It is expected she will attract big crowds again when the travelling Jackson show tours the WNBL, but the Capitals will be limited by the crowd capacity at the National Convention Centre while the AIS Arena remains closed.
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