The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is a professional women's basketball league in Australia composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the women's counterpart to the National Basketball League (NBL).
Suzy Batkovic is an Australian professional basketball player and politician. Suzy played her junior basketball with the Port Hunter Basketball Club in Newcastle. She has played basketball for several European clubs including the French Valenciennes, the Spanish side Ros Casares, the Russian side UMMC Ekaterinburg, and Italian side Cras Basket. In the United States, she has played for the Seattle Storm after having been selected as a first round draft pick in 2003. She has played professional basketball domestically for the Australian Institute of Sport in 1996–1999, the Sydney Uni Flames from 1999–2001, and 2009–2010, the Townsville Fire in 2001–2002, the Canberra Capitals in 2010–2011, and the Adelaide Lightning in 2011–2013; she returned to the Fire for the 2013–14 season. She has been a member of the Australia women's national basketball team, being named to the team for the first time in 1999. She won a silver medal with the team at the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
The Perth Lynx are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at Bendat Basketball Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Northern Star Resources Perth Lynx.
Leilani Seamah Mitchell is an American-Australian professional basketball player for the Southside Flyers of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). Mitchell was drafted 25th overall by the Phoenix Mercury in the 2008 WNBA draft. A dual citizen of the United States and Australia, she is a member of Australian women's national basketball team. In 2019 Mitchell became the first WNBA player to win the Most Improved Player Award twice.
Rohanee "Roey" Cox is an Australian professional basketball player who currently plays for the Sydney Uni Flames of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She was one of the first Aboriginal Australians to represent her country in basketball at the Olympics and won a silver medal with the Opals at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Natalie Porter is an Australian basketball player who played for the Australian national team and became an Olympic medalist. In her home country, she has played for four different top-level teams including the Dandenong Rangers, Townsville Fire, Sydney Uni Flames and Canberra Capitals. In 2000, she was drafted by the Women's National Basketball Association. She has also played basketball in Italy. She has been a member of the Australia women's national basketball team, and won a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens as a member of the team.
The Women's National Basketball League Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) award given since the league's second season. MVP voting takes place throughout the regular season and is determined by a players' accumulated score from game-by-game voting. In every game, each head coach and the referees from each respective game complete a voting card, with three points being awarded for a first place vote, two for second, one for third, a player can take a maximum of nine votes from any one game. It is the most prestigious award for individual players in the WNBL.
Rachael McCully is one of Australia's most accomplished female basketballers. During a decorated WNBL career, McCully played for the Adelaide Lightning, Dandenong Rangers and Townsville Fire, earning the WNBL's Robyn Maher Defensive Player of Year award in 2009/2010 and 2010/2011. She played her 324th and final WNBL game in the 2014/15 WNBL Grand Final as she led the Townsville Fire to their inaugural championship. McCully was also a member of the Australia women's national basketball team, being named in the team for the first time in 2010 and narrowly missing out on selection for the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women.
Lauren Elizabeth Jackson is an Australian professional basketball player. Arguably the most notable Australian women's basketball player, Jackson has had a decorated career with the Australia women's national basketball team and has had multiple stints in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) between 1997 and 2024. Between 2001 and 2012, she played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Cayla George is an Australian professional basketball player for the Sydney Flames of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She was a member of the Australian Women's basketball team (Opals) at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Opals were eliminated after losing to the USA in the quarterfinals.
Stephanie Talbot is an Australian professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Natalie Burton is an Australian basketball player and coach. She represented the Australian national team and was a regular with the Perry Lakes Hawks of the NBL1 West until 2021. She served as assistant coach for the Perth Lynx of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) between 2021 and 2024.
Samantha Allison Whitcomb is an American-Australian professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Washington Huskies before making a name for herself in Australia with the Rockingham Flames in the State Basketball League (SBL) and the Perth Lynx in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She made her debut in the WNBA in 2017 and won championships with the Seattle Storm in 2018 and 2020. She became an Australian citizen in 2018 and made her debut for the Australian Opals.
Stephanie Blicavs is an Australian professional basketball player.
Alice Kunek is an Australian-Irish professional basketball player for Sopron Basket, the current champions of the EuroLeague Women.
Shyla Jade Heal is an Australian professional basketball player.
The 2020 WNBL season was the 41st season of the competition since its establishment in 1981. The Canberra Capitals were the two-time defending champions, but were defeated in the semi-finals by Melbourne. The Southside Flyers won the Grand Final, defeating the Townsville Fire, 99–82. The Flyers took home the franchise's fourth WNBL title overall, this being their first since rebranding as Southside.
Aarion Shawnae McDonald is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted third overall by the Atlanta Dream in the 2021 WNBA draft after playing college basketball at the University of Washington and the University of Arizona.
Stephanie Gorman is an Australian professional basketball player for the Perth Lynx of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She played college basketball for Utah State and San Diego. In 2023, she debuted for the Lynx in the WNBL. With the Cockburn Cougars of the NBL1 West, she helped the team win the 2023 championship while earning grand final MVP honours.
