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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.<\/p>\n
Watch the Women\u2019s 2026 FIBA World Cup LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Australian basketball legend Penny Taylor, who played a starring role in that historic triumph, has reflected on the Opals\u2019 only World Cup gold medal and what we can expect from the 2026 roster led by Sandy Brondello.<\/p>\n Speaking exclusively to Fox Sports Australia<\/i>, 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n \u201cSo 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 \u201896 Olympics.\u201d <\/p>\n The \u201896 team walked away from the Atlanta Olympics with a bronze medal after defeating Ukraine 66-56. It was Australia\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery tournament we went into, we had high expectations, and we had that of ourselves as well because the way women\u2019s basketball was at that point, the WNBA was extremely new.<\/p>\n \u201cEurope 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.<\/p>\n \u201cSo 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,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Despite Australia entering the 2006 World Cup with high expectations, Team USA remained the team to beat.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe funny thing with USA is… it didn\u2019t kind of, I don\u2019t want to say it didn\u2019t register as important, but it didn\u2019t 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,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it\u2019s the best teams in the world. So it was sometimes tricky, as you didn\u2019t 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\u2019t had a break in so long because we were all playing year-round.<\/p>\n \u201cThey still had obviously twelve incredible players, but a lot of people just couldn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n For Taylor, her career also provided the rare experience of playing both alongside and against her partner, basketball legend Diana Taurasi.<\/p>\n The pair married in 2017 and now have two children, Leo and Isla, but faced off on several occasions throughout their professional careers.<\/p>\n Taylor was part of Australia\u2019s 2004 and 2008 Olympic teams, which both claimed silver after losing to Team USA and Taurasi in the gold-medal game.<\/p>\n \u201cIt 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.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I always laugh when I\u2019m talking to my kids. Like, they\u2019ve seen a lot of Diana\u2019s achievements. And then the other week I pulled out my silver medals and I\u2019m like, \u2018Yeah, I have two silver medals, which is great. But it\u2019s really mumma\u2019s fault that I don\u2019t have two gold medals.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cMy last Olympics, we didn\u2019t even make the medal rounds, which makes you really appreciate those silver medals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Heading into the now-legendary 2006 World Cup, the Opals\u2019 first game of the tournament was a walkover after their opening opponent, Lithuania, failed to arrive in time due to flight delays.<\/p>\n FIBA World Cup: Veteran ruled out in World Cup blow as Opals turn to in-form WNBL star<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Australia was awarded an automatic 2-0 victory, but Taylor said the unusual start did not affect her or the team.<\/p>\n In fact, she believes Australia\u2019s limited preparation may have actually helped, with several players joining the squad just weeks before the tournament following their WNBA commitments.<\/p>\n \u201cThat tournament was actually, I think, so successful because we didn\u2019t 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,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it worked in our favour because we just had to be on same page. We\u2019d 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.<\/p>\n \u201cSo when that game was cancelled, for me I was thrilled, like, \u2018All right, this is great, one win in the bag,\u2019 but it didn\u2019t affect me at all. Some people maybe think differently, but, and I\u2019m sure the coach would have loved to get another game because of our limited preparation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Their opponent would be Russia, who stunned Team USA 75-68 in the semi-finals to set up a showdown with Australia.<\/p>\n For Taylor, there were plenty of nerves heading into the game, with Russia among the best teams in the world at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cRussia 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThey had Maria Stepanova, who was 6\u20197\u201d, 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n \u201cSo that was also in the back of our minds. Like, not only we know how good they are, we know they\u2019ve 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Taylor\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t 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\u2019s that good, and she\u2019s been that good from such a young age. That was really just what I was expecting.<\/p>\n \u201cSo it was nice to get some recognition, but those things don\u2019t matter. What really mattered was that we had done something as a team nobody else had ever done.<\/p>\n