Penny Taylor recently added WNBA champion to her list of career achievements. Barry Gossage/NBAE/Getty Images

Fans from Taylor's native Australia have long been familiar with her superior skills on the court, but Taylor is on the verge of becoming a superstar in the WNBA. WNBA.com talked with the seven-year veteran and two-time All-Star to find out what drives her to reach even higher levels in an already stellar career.

Q: What is your motivation when you don’t feel like working out, running that extra mile, waking up early, etc.?

TAYLOR: “Retirement (laughs). No. Looking forward to the future.”

Q: Was there a time in your career or lifetime of playing basketball when you thought about giving up the game because maybe you thought it took up too much time or because you felt you weren’t good enough?

TAYLOR: “Yeah, I guess I thought about it on and off now and then when things got tough."

Q: What got you beyond that?

TAYLOR: "The goals that I had set for myself: Olympic medals, championship medals, those sorts of things.”

Q: Do you have any healthy snacks or good meals that you prefer?

TAYLOR: “I love my vegetables and just making vegetable sort of meals. I love fruit too, so it’s easy.”

Q: Do you cook?

TAYLOR: “I’m a hopeless cook, but my husband’s really good so I’m lucky (laughs).”

Q: What’s your workout regimen like during the season and the off-season?

TAYLOR: “I don’t really have an off-season. I’m always playing or training with a team.”

Q: What else drives you? What other goals have you set for yourself off the court that you’re pursuing?

TAYLOR: “I’m building a house at the moment (laughs). And I’m putting myself in a situation where after basketball I can go back to school and study and go back to university, which is something I haven’t had the chance to do because I’ve been playing basketball (laughs).”