Maddie Garrick is used to the spotlight of the national competition, but enters the organisation's 40th campaign with a new challenge on her plate for the Melbourne Boomers.
Garrick, alongside teammate Cayla George, will co-captain the Purple and Gold army this summer and she was looking forward to the adventure.
“I guess I'm kind of in a new role as co-captain,” Garrick said.
“It's a different headspace, I'm learning more about myself in that role and what I can bring to the team not only as a player but as a leader as well.
“Cayla and I work really, really well together too and there's a great culture around the team.”
The Boomers open the season on Saturday night against Bendigo and Garrick believes her squad has what it takes to challenge for the championship.
“It's always exciting going into a new season,” she said.
“You get to reevaluate and try to build on what you achieved last season.
“We've got a different looking team I guess with a lot of international experience, we've got two players from America and four from New Zealand.
“There's lots of depth, so we're looking forward to it.”
Personally, Garrick enters the new campaign full of momentum after once again tasting success for Australia.
Garrick was among the 3x3 team which claimed a win at the FIBA 3x3 Women's Series Tokyo Stop last month to further push their case for a spot at the Olympics.
“Any time you can get an opportunity to represent Australia is always an honour. It's a fantastic experience,” she said.
“We had a little bit more riding on us this time to continue working towards qualifying for the Olympics, we basically had to make the final.
“You always go into a tournament wanting to win, but that extra little bit of pressure helped us really perform I think.
“It's definitely a game (3x3) that's suited to my sort of play and it gives me a chance to play for Australia and a good crack at getting to the Olympics.
“It has been helping me find my form coming into the WNBL season with my physicality and the mental side of the game.
“It gives me more of a scorer's mentality and has me getting to the basket more.”
The WNBL recently announced all games this season were expected to be available live via either broadcast partner Fox Sports or the league's website.
Garrick acknowledged the increased exposure for women's basketball in this country was a huge step.
“We want to keep building our league and I think the amount of talent in the league both from locally and internationally speaks for itself,” she said.
“It's a strong and great comp and is attracting more and more players from overseas. We want to build that exposure so it's great for women's basketball and the WNBL.
“We've got some of the best players in the world and this will help us reach a wider audience - those who want to get to games but can't (for any number of reasons).
“It's fantastic to have that exposure.”
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