RACHAEL SPORN

One of Australia's most recognisable female basketball players Racheal Sporn OAM is truly respected and admired for her outstanding career. 

Rachel was one of the stars of Australian Basketball. Playing for Adelaide Lightning in the WNBL, Rachel has won the WNBL’s Most Valuable Player award in 1996 and 1997. Her 1997 season was simply outstanding as she led in scoring (average22 points per game), field goal percentage (56%) and rebounding (186 rebounds). 

It wa over an incredibly fulfilling 19 years that Rachael played basketball at the elite level. The most special memories are reserved for her years playing for “The Opals”, the Australian Women’s Basketball Team. Playing 304 games for her country, Rachael is a triple Olympian, winning bronze in Atlanta in 1996, Silver in Sydney in 2000 and Silver in Athens in 2004. 

Other highlights include playing for and captaining the Adelaide Lightning to four Premierships in the WNBL and playing for Detroit Shock in the WNBA for 3 seasons was a dream achieved.

Rachael is also a member of the South Australian Sports Hall of Fame and the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame. In 2015 Rachael was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her services to basketball and the community. 

Away from basketball, Rachael is very passionate about the not-for-profit sector having held the position of CEO for 6 years with the Australian Melanoma Research Foundation.