Reid all about Opals winning the World Cup

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Australian Opals and Tasmania Jewels point guard star Steph Reid’s focus is unwavering heading into the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Berlin, Germany, next month.

"Everybody in the team knows we're not just going for the podium,” Reid told basketball.com.au in an exclusive interview.

“We want to do better. The girls have done an incredible job over the last two major tournaments, walking away with medals, but we want to just keep improving.

"We want to win a gold medal, and we want to get on that podium again, and that's something that we're all working towards.

“If you don't say it, then it's not really a goal.

"We're talking openly about our ambitions and what we want to achieve.

"We want to improve every single game, so that we're in the best shape come the medal games."

The Opals won silver at the 2018 World Cup and bronze at the 2022 World Cup, and a bronze medal wedged in between at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Building Chemistry

Reid, 30, admitted it was a challenge to prepare for the tournament – not just for the Opals but all countries – with Australia’s core competing in the WNBA in the lead-up.

"Having players that are on the other side of the world, all over the world, really makes it difficult,” she admitted.

“But that's the thing about the Opals, there really is a genuine connectedness within the group, and that's not just for show. We're always talking. We're always communicating with each other. We've had Zoom calls about our playing style.

"The continuity that we have from this last recent tournament, the World Cup qualifiers in March, and being able to take away from having a very similar lineup. We knew that we won all those games, but we also knew that there were a lot of areas that we could grow and improve on, and those are things that now we're talking about.

"Being on court is the best way to improve, but all the best teams in the world are going to really struggle with that aspect.

“Our ability to connect and grow away from each other, but together, I think that's going to be the key thing that helps us when we get into that World Cup environment, because we're not going from ground zero.

“We have been building on this all year."

The System Dictates Success

Reid said Sandy Brondello’s offence is central to the Opals' ability to win games, regardless of who’s on the floor or available, at major tournaments.

"It's a very unique system, and that was something that initially we took a little bit to adjust to, but the system is built to complement the strengths of whoever is in it, and it's a lot of reads," Reid said,

"We've got players that have a lot of versatility. We have some unbelievable shooters. We have some big guards, we have great ball handlers, we have a lot of great creators, and to be able to put all of that into our system, it's just going to be strength to strength.

"That was probably the growing pains that we did experience initially in March, but we've gone back, we're cutting up film, we're talking about our offence, and we're really locked in to making sure that those things are not something that holds us back come World Cup.

"You're going to see a team that's really harnessing their strengths and understanding what each person brings."

Dream Come True

Reid forced her way into World Cup contention after running the show as Australia won the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup in China.

"To know that I'm going to a major tournament, it's just the most unbelievable feeling,” she revealed.

“It makes everything so worth it. It's obviously been a very long journey to get here, but I think it's really being believed in by the right people. I've always tried to stay ready for opportunities.

"I'm really grateful to be a part of this team at a time where Australian basketball has such a huge depth of talent."

"There are so many people vying for every single position. Having done so much work with junior athletes throughout my career, it's now understanding how many people aim to do what I'm doing, and how many don't get to achieve their lifelong goals.

“For me it's making sure I don't take any of these moments for granted, because I know how many people would do anything in the world to be going to a World Cup with the Australian Opals."

Reid ready to play her game

"Every tournament we have role meetings, and we talk about what we do,” she said.

“When (Sandy) selected me, she told me the reasons why I was there. At this point, you don't get selected for these teams if you're not playing the role that they see you fitting into."

"That's the thing about the Opals, there's so much depth, and there's so much talent. It's how do the pieces fit together.

“Everyone that's made it knows their role, knows what they do well and knows how they can contribute to success. We don't necessarily have people playing outside of those roles, because you know what got you to the World Cup.

"For me, it's playing our defence, facilitating for others and understanding the playbook from back to front. That's what I bring, and I know that's what got me there."

"I'm going in mentally ready to help in any way possible, whether it's waving the towel on the bench, whether it's getting out and playing great defence, whether it's facilitating.

“I'm going to make sure I'm in the best physical and mental shape of my life so that I can hopefully help our team when I'm required to."

Eyes on the prize

Reid said even though the Opals had their eyes firmly focused on the biggest prize – the World Cup – the team was locked in on their first match-up at 7.30pm on Friday, September 4

"At the moment it's all Puerto Rico,” she said.

“That's all we're talking about. We're not focused on the next game or the game after, because anything could happen.

"We're just focused on game one. We need to come out with a bang. We want to come out and play great basketball straight away.

“We're already talking about them; we're talking about the scout, we're across it, and everyone's asking for different resources to be able to prepare for that.

"I'm not looking past the first game matchup at all. That's the one thing. It's like, no, I'm strictly thinking about Puerto Rico right now, and then we'll move on from that."

"It's not about finals. It's about making an impact straight away and then growing and getting better every single game."