The 2026 FIBA World Cup in Germany is almost upon us with the Australian Opals, who enter the tournament ranked third in the world, preparing to embark on a potential gold-medal run as they look to recreate the glory of 2006, 20 years on.
Watch the Women’s 2026 FIBA World Cup LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
Australian basketball legend Penny Taylor, who played a starring role in that historic triumph, has reflected on the Opals’ only World Cup gold medal and what we can expect from the 2026 roster led by Sandy Brondello.
Speaking exclusively to Fox Sports Australia, Taylor, a three-time WNBA champion, two-time Olympic silver medallist, two-time FIBA World Cup bronze medallist and, of course, gold medallist and Most Valuable Player at the legendary 2006 FIBA World Cup, detailed how the Opals entered that tournament as one of the teams to beat.
“The whole crew that came before us, Michele Timms and Shelley Gorman and Robyn Maher and Tom Maher as the coach, like, really put us on the map,” Taylor said.
“So I think 2000, 2004, and my entire Opals career, we were always in the top. There was a lot expected of us because of what they did in that ‘96 Olympics.”
The ‘96 team walked away from the Atlanta Olympics with a bronze medal after defeating Ukraine 66-56. It was Australia’s first ever Olympic basketball medal, beginning a run that would see the Opals win three silvers and two bronze medals over the next three decades.
For Taylor, who was 25 at the time of the 2006 World Cup, the tournament provided an opportunity to further put Australian basketball on the global map.
The WNBA, which was founded in 1996, was still relatively new and low-paying despite boasting some of the best talent in the world. Taylor said Europe provided players with an opportunity to make significantly more money, while international tournaments gave them a platform to represent both their country and themselves on the world stage.
“Every tournament we went into, we had high expectations, and we had that of ourselves as well because the way women’s basketball was at that point, the WNBA was extremely new.
“Europe had always had their leagues and their European leagues, which was where a lot of us went to make our money. But then the WNBA came along, and it put a whole new situation on the map. So as much as it was the best league in the world, it had all the best players, it did not pay great compared to what we were making in Europe.
“So it was a real substantial effort to play in Europe and then come back to play in the WNBA. But kind of the way you were seen around the world, this is predating the internet, so these tournaments were huge for not only representing your country, but representing yourself around the world as well,” she said.
Despite Australia entering the 2006 World Cup with high expectations, Team USA remained the team to beat.
While the Americans did not have all of their best players available, their roster was still loaded with stars including Sue Bird, Candace Parker and Diana Taurasi.
“The funny thing with USA is… it didn’t kind of, I don’t want to say it didn’t register as important, but it didn’t get as much attention. It was a much harder tournament. You were playing nine games back then, not anymore, but back then you were playing nine games in 11 days, which is insane,” Taylor said.
“And it’s the best teams in the world. So it was sometimes tricky, as you didn’t always get the top players for the world as you did for the Olympics from the US team because it was straight after WNBA, there was injuries, there was people that just hadn’t had a break in so long because we were all playing year-round.
“They still had obviously twelve incredible players, but a lot of people just couldn’t make that tournament. Not to say that they were not as strong as they always are, they definitely were loaded. They had Alana Beard, had Tamika Catchings, the best players in the world.”
For Taylor, her career also provided the rare experience of playing both alongside and against her partner, basketball legend Diana Taurasi.
The pair married in 2017 and now have two children, Leo and Isla, but faced off on several occasions throughout their professional careers.
Taylor was part of Australia’s 2004 and 2008 Olympic teams, which both claimed silver after losing to Team USA and Taurasi in the gold-medal game.
“It was funny because that 2006 World Cup was in between the Greece Olympics and the Beijing Olympics, which are the two silver medals that I have. And we [Opals] lost both gold medal games to the US.
“So I always laugh when I’m talking to my kids. Like, they’ve seen a lot of Diana’s achievements. And then the other week I pulled out my silver medals and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I have two silver medals, which is great. But it’s really mumma’s fault that I don’t have two gold medals.’
“My last Olympics, we didn’t even make the medal rounds, which makes you really appreciate those silver medals,” she said.
Heading into the now-legendary 2006 World Cup, the Opals’ first game of the tournament was a walkover after their opening opponent, Lithuania, failed to arrive in time due to flight delays.
FIBA World Cup: Veteran ruled out in World Cup blow as Opals turn to in-form WNBL star
Australia was awarded an automatic 2-0 victory, but Taylor said the unusual start did not affect her or the team.
In fact, she believes Australia’s limited preparation may have actually helped, with several players joining the squad just weeks before the tournament following their WNBA commitments.
“That tournament was actually, I think, so successful because we didn’t have a lot of preparation together as a team. Because a lot of us were playing the WNBA, we joined the team two weeks before we started. So we had very minimal preparation,” she said.
“I think it worked in our favour because we just had to be on same page. We’d all played together and against each other for such a long time, so we just knew each other so well, we had so much chemistry.
“So when that game was cancelled, for me I was thrilled, like, ‘All right, this is great, one win in the bag,’ but it didn’t affect me at all. Some people maybe think differently, but, and I’m sure the coach would have loved to get another game because of our limited preparation,” she said.
The Opals went on to finish atop Group B, winning all six games with a monstrous +121 point differential, defeating the likes of Canada, Spain and host nation Brazil along the way.
After overcoming France 79-66 in the quarter-finals, the Opals found themselves facing Brazil again in the semi-finals, walking away with an 88-76 victory to book their place in the gold-medal game.
Their opponent would be Russia, who stunned Team USA 75-68 in the semi-finals to set up a showdown with Australia.
For Taylor, there were plenty of nerves heading into the game, with Russia among the best teams in the world at the time.
“Russia was so strong back then, like, so competitive. A lot of us were playing in Europe, so we had been playing against these women for quite a number of years.
“They had Maria Stepanova, who was 6’7”, unbelievably skilled. They had Ilona Korstin, who was, like, super defensive, really talented, like a fighter. [Oxana] Rakhmatulina was the point guard, she really, like, skilled, a really great leader, and [Olga] Arteshina, who never made mistakes, she was unbelievable.
“I actually played with Stepanova in Phoenix too, so everyone had all these different connections to Russian players, and I ended up playing there the following year.”
“I was nervous because I think it just means you care, and I was excited about facing them. But I knew we could do it, and I really felt like it was our opportunity. But on the same hand, they had just beaten the US, which we had never done.
“So that was also in the back of our minds. Like, not only we know how good they are, we know they’ve just beaten the best team in the world. So, yeah, that was a mixed emotion, but we also knew, we had a lot of confidence in each other. We had played together since we were teenagers. So we knew our strengths.”
The Opals went on to win a hard-fought final, defeating Russia 91-74 to claim their first World Cup gold medal, which remains their only gold at the tournament heading into 2026.
Taylor exploded for a game-high 28 points, nine rebounds and three steals, shooting 9-of-14 (64%) from the field, while Opals legend Lauren Jackson added 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Taylor’s performance helped her claim tournament Most Valuable Player honours, although the award came as a surprise to her, particularly with Jackson averaging a team-high 21.3 points per game.
“I don’t care too much for those awards. Being with Lauren [Jackson] for such a long time, I just assumed she was going to win everything. She’s that good, and she’s been that good from such a young age. That was really just what I was expecting.
“So it was nice to get some recognition, but those things don’t matter. What really mattered was that we had done something as a team nobody else had ever done.
READ MORE: Boomers extend perfect World Cup qualifying run with dominant Manila sweep
“I felt pretty proud to bring that back to Australia more than anything.”
Now, 20 years on, Taylor believes the new generation of Australian talent is capable of doing it again, particularly with Australian basketball legend Sandy Brondello leading the team.
Taylor and Brondello share plenty of history, both as teammates and later as player and coach.
“Any team coached by Sandy has an amazing chance. She is the most prepared, most knowledgeable coach I’ve ever had. She’s unbelievable. She knows inside and out of every team we’re going to face. She knows every player. She’s got an answer for everything.”
Taylor and Brondello were teammates on Australia’s silver-medal-winning team at the 2004 Athens Olympics, as well as the bronze-medal-winning squad at the 2002 FIBA World Cup in China.
Taylor was also coached by Brondello during her time with the Phoenix Mercury, where Taylor had her No.13 jersey retired, before later joining the organisation as an assistant coach in 2019.
Taylor has praised the roster Brondello has assembled for the 2026 tournament, particularly the blend of experienced players and emerging talent, although she knows there will be some difficult challenges ahead.
“I really enjoy looking at the roster, how we have a mix of some experienced players and then some really young, up-and-coming players.
“So I’m really excited to see how she [Brondello] brings all that together and puts it out on the court. I feel like we’ve got some pretty challenging, especially the Belgium game will be really challenging. But the first two, I feel like we have some opportunity to play with the line-ups a little bit and figure out what’s our best look going into that Belgium game.”
One player who has caught Taylor’s eye is rising 21-year-old star Isobel Borlase, who is coming off a WNBL MVP campaign with the Bendigo Spirit and is currently playing for the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA alongside Angel Reese.
“I caught up with her last week when they [Atlanta] were playing here in Phoenix, and not only is she a great player, she’s physically strong, and she’s really mature.
“She has really got a good idea of what she wants to do and how she has to go about it. I’m excited to see how she does,” she said.
With Taylor watching on, the Opals will begin their FIBA World Cup campaign tomorrow night when they take on Puerto Rico at 7:30pm (AEST).
The Opals are in Group C alongside Puerto Rico, Turkey and Belgium.