Seattle Storm fans may wish it was an April Fool's joke, but Lauren Jackson has announced her
retirement from basketball. The 6'5 center and
4 time WNBA MVP winner teamed with Sue Bird to lead the Storm to 2 WNBA championships. One of the most visable figures on the Seattle sports scene, she perhaps deserves credit for saving WNBA basketball in Seattle. The Storm was sold along with the Sonics to an ownership group led by Clay Bennett from Oklahoma City. While Bennett was able to move the Sonics to his hometown, he would sell the Storm to a Seattle ownership group that has kept the team located here.
An Australian, Jackson's team won 3 Olympic Silver Medals and one Bronze, competing ironically 3 times against Storm teammate Sue Bird's U.S. team. In 2004, Bird's team and Jackson's team won Gold and Silver in the Olympics, then teamed up to win the first WNBA championship for the Storm.
Jackson had been plagued recently with injury problems and had not played for the Storm since 2012.
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