Loading ... but will Opals core have enough polish?

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Australian Opals core – captain Sami Whitcomb, Ezi Magbegor and Alanna Smith – missed 57 WNBA games between them this season.

But since 31 July, not one of them has missed a single game, and all three have climbed in minutes and production at the same time heading into the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Berlin starting on September 4.

All three are crucial to Australia’s chances of winning their second World Cup; the first was in 2006 in a team led by Lauren Jackson and Penny Taylor.

Related: How to watch every Australian Opals clash at the 2026 FIBA World Cup

The WNBA will go into a FIBA Break from August 31 to September 17, which head coach Sandy Brondello revealed would leave the Opals with just a three-day mini-camp to prepare for their first game against Puerto Rico on September 4 at 5pm (AEST).

"With only three days together before the World Cup, continuity was an important factor," Brondello said.

Magbegor, 27, hurt her right foot playing for Australia at the World Cup qualifiers in Istanbul and missed Seattle's first 20 games, then broke a bone in her face on an accidental elbow at Atlanta on July 12, costing her six more and a protective mask for the rest of the season.

Smith, 29, fractured her nose in the Dallas pre-season and played in a mask that cost her her starting spot, sat out four games in concussion protocol in late June, then missed four more with a right lower leg injury sustained against Chicago on 12 July.

Whitcomb, 38, had an arthroscopy on her left knee in early May to remove a loose body, missed Phoenix's first 22 games, and has been managed on a minutes restriction ever since she was cleared on July 9.

EZI MAGBEGOR (Seattle Storm) – missed 11 of 37 games

Missed the first 20 (May 9 to June 28), returned July 3, missed six more (July 12 to 29), available for all seven since.

• First stint: 13.5 min, 3.5 pts, 43.8 TS%
• Since July 31: 22.3 min, 9.3 pts, 4.3 reb, 1.6 blk, 50.6 TS%
• Last three: 26.0 min, 11.7 pts
• Minutes in order: 17, 14, 15, 8 then 14, 21, 17, 26, 26, 27, 25
• Every season high is in her last two games: 27 minutes (August 15), 17 points and 5 blocks (August 17). All three of her double-figure scoring games have come since July 31.
• Rebounding: 10.7 boards per 36 in the first stint, 6.9 since.

ALANNA SMITH (Dallas Wings) – missed 28 of 36. The sharpest ramp of the three.

Missed eight games across three stints (one in May, three in late June, four from July 19 to 30), then all eight since.

• To July 12: 14.2 min, 3.8 pts, 2.9 reb, 45.2 TS%
• Since July 31: 27.0 min, 11.4 pts, 7.0 reb, 48.0 FG%, 55.8 TS%
• Last three: 32.7 min, 11.3 pts, 7.7 reb, 61.0 TS%
• Both her double-doubles are in August (21 and 11 at Washington, August 5; 13 and 11 v Toronto, August 13). Five of her seven double-figure games this season have come since 31 July.
• Dallas are 20-16 and fourth in the West. Hers is the only ramp of the three happening in a team still playing for something.

SAMI WHITCOMB (Phoenix Mercury) – missed 13 of 36. The slowest and latest ramp.

Missed the first 22 (May 9 to July 8), returned July 10, one game missed since.

• To July 30: 14.2 min, 3.8 pts, 24% from three
• Since July 31: 17.0 min, 5.6 pts, 2.4 ast, 31% from three
• Ten straight games between 11 and 19 minutes, then 22 and 26.
• Her only double-figure game of the season is her most recent: 11 points, 4 assists, 26 minutes v Portland on August 16, a season high in minutes.
• The risk: the shooting has not arrived. 31.1% from the field and 28.0% from three across 13 games.

THE OTHER FOUR WNBA-BASED PLAYERS IN THE 12

• Jade Melbourne (Seattle) is the form Australian in the league: 36 of 37 games, 28.3 min and 11.7 pts since 31 July, up from 24.0 and 8.8, with a season-high 23 on August 9.
• Isobel Borlase (Atlanta): 34 of 34, minutes up to 14.9 since July 31, 10 points in her last time out.
• Steph Talbot (Las Vegas) is the one going the other way. She has not missed a game all year, but her minutes have fallen from 18.1 to 11.1 since July 31, and she has gone 2, 4, 0, 5, 2 in her last five.
• Chloe Bibby (Minnesota) is the one to worry about. Four WNBA games all season, all four for Chicago, the last on July 31. Minnesota signed her on August 1, and she has not played a minute for them in the six games since.

THE RUN-IN

Before Berlin, Seattle has three games left; Phoenix has four; and Dallas has four plus a New York fixture postponed on 17 July that is still unscheduled.