At 43, there is one more retirement in store, that much we know. But it can wait until Lauren competes at a remarkable fifth Olympic Games and adds another chapter to a career that has already seen her collect three silver medals (2000, 2004, 2008) and a bronze (2012) from the Olympics alone, among a list of accolades that includes being a three-time WNBA MVP, the all-time scoring leader in the Olympic tournament and Australia’s opening ceremony Flag Bearer at London 2012.

Lauren’s path to Paris was hardly assured. It was only in February when she declared ‘I’m done’ after helping the Opals qualify for Paris with an 85-52 victory over Germany in Brazil, the same country where she captained the Opals to the 2006 FIBA World Championship crown.

“Brazil has been very good to me,” Lauren said at the time. “How fitting that I get to finish my national career with Australia in Brazil. It’s very special.”

Injury had been behind Lauren’s first retirement, when she struggled to overcome knee issues ahead of Rio in 2016. This time, it was the draw of family that had been her primary concern, with a growing reluctance to spend time away from her boys Harry and Lennon.

With the help of Basketball Australia and her family, Lauren will have the support network in place to allow her to travel with her sons and be a central part of the Australian medal push, some 24 years after her Olympic debut as a 19-year-old in Sydney 2000.

“It’s been a lot for me. I’ve had to process a lot. I’ve had some pretty significant injuries the last couple of years,” Lauren said.

“When I came out of retirement, I never anticipated it would get back to this point, especially after the injuries I had last year. So there has been a lot of discussion with my family, my kids, it’s really impacted them, the training and the sacrifice that they have made, with me being away as much as I have.

“I’ve continued training while having these discussions. I put myself in the best situation I possibly could. There are a lot of factors, my body, my knee, but I will give it a red hot crack.”

She will join Andrew Gaze, Patty Mills and Joe Ingles as the only Australian basketballers to play at five Olympics.

Lauren has been a transformative force for her sport and was at the forefront of a generation of players that added new layers of abilities and athleticism to women's basketball.

At 196cm, Jackson was always a menace around the rim at both ends of the court but ushered in the modern style of hybrid frontcourt player with her solid midrange game, capable outside shot, court vision and silky suite of diversified skills.

She knows the game has changed substantially since she last featured in an Olympic Games and welcomed the chance to test herself against many of the athletes who have emerged as stars on the trail she helped to blaze.

“The game has evolved completely. It's a very athletic game now. It's a very big game,” Lauren said. “There's a lot of girls around the world my height with my sort of athleticism, which I don't have anymore.

“It's definitely changed a lot but it's amazing to see it evolve, to see the athletes evolve. And the competition is so hard. From what I've been involved in with the Opals the last couple of years, and what I've seen, it's going to be very hard to get on the podium.”

Lauren has no peers in Australia in terms of her basketball resume but hangs off every word of her former Opals teammate - and current coach - Sandy Brondello. The Victorian knows what success feels like in terms of team culture and believes Brondello has done a stellar job since a challenging Olympics in Tokyo, where the team missed a medal.

“The thing that I love the most about having her (Brondello) as my coach is I just have an innate trust in her as a coach, as a teammate and as a friend. And I think that the culture that she's built over the last couple of years with the team is remarkable. And to be honest, it didn't feel like this when I was playing years and years ago,” Lauren said.

“It's a really tight knit group and she's created something this special because it's from the top, it's her personality. It's who she is. And as a teammate, we had some great times together, but she was always a little bit older than me and always sort of mentoring me and supporting me.

“And it's sort of the same [as coach], you know… it's pretty much the same.”

Lauren has a catalogue of Olympic memories and knows each Games represents a different journey. In Paris, she will add even more as Australia tunes in to see the final final appearance from a national sporting treasure.

“Obviously being a Flag Bearer in 2012 was really, really special,” she said. “I reckon Sydney 2000 was a pretty special time. I was so young and it didn't really hit me that we were playing in an Olympic Games at home.

“And I think that pressure... I didn't feel any pressure then, because I was so young, I just went out and had fun. But every journey is different, and they all meant something. You know, they're all special in their own unique way.”

The women’s Olympic basketball tournament will begin at Pierre Mouroy Stadium on Sunday 28 July.

Phil Lutton