Storm Re-Signs Jackson

February 23, 2005

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Jackson

SEATTLE - The WNBA Champion Seattle Storm today re-signed 6-5 forward Lauren Jackson, a two-time All-WNBA First Team selection, to a contract, Storm Head Coach and Director of Player Personnel Anne Donovan announced.

Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The first overall pick in the 2001 WNBA Draft, Jackson averaged 20.5 points per game in 2004 to lead the league in scoring for the season straight season while steering the Storm to the 2004 WNBA Championship. The league title marked the franchise’s first and the city’s first professional sports title since the 1978-79 Seattle Sonics captured the NBA Championship.

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“Lauren continues to be one of the most dominant players in women’s basketball in the world. Re-signing her was our biggest priority as we prepare to defend our WNBA title,” Donovan said. “We are thrilled that Lauren is returning to Seattle, and she’ll arrive earlier this year to prepare for another exciting Storm season.”

Last season Jackson also finished third in the WNBA in three-point field-goal percentage (.452), sixth in field-goal percentage (.478), third in blocks (2.00 bpg) and 10th in rebounds (6.7 rpg).

A member of the silver-medal winning Australian National Team at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. Jackson, 23, enters her fifth season with the Storm and is the franchise’s all-time leader in points (2,256), rebounds (897), blocked shots (271) and three-point field goals made (173).

Jackson is ready to begin working towards a Storm repeat. Otto Greule Jr/NBAE/Getty

“I’m eager to return to Seattle and I look forward to the task of defending our WNBA Championship,” said Jackson. “I feel more rested this year since I didn’t play in Australia last fall, and I aim to have a healthy and productive 2005 season with the Storm.”

The three-time WNBA All-Star (2001-03) led the league in scoring in 2003 with a career-high average of 21.2 points per game that led to her being named the 2003 WNBA MVP. She became the youngest player and the first international player to receive the league’s highest honor.

On July 15, 2004 at Sacramento, Jackson became the youngest player in WNBA history to score her 2,000th career point. She was also the second-fastest player to attain the milestone, reaching it in 109 career games (Cynthia Cooper, retired from the Houston Comets, holds the mark with 90 games).

Jackson had offseason arthroscopic surgery in her native Australia to repair a damaged ligament and remove bone spurs from her ankle. She was sidelined for several months and missed the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) season with the Canberra Capitals in Australia.

The Storm will open the 2005 WNBA season on Saturday, May 21 against Western Conference rival the Los Angeles Sparks at KeyArena.

For information on 2005 Storm season tickets, call 206-217-WNBA or log onto storm.wnba.com.

The Seattle Sonics & Storm manages the Puget Sound region’s professional basketball franchises – the NBA’s Seattle SuperSonics and the WNBA’s Seattle Storm. The organization oversees all sales, marketing, finance, public relations and basketball operations for the teams. The Basketball Club of Seattle LLC owns both teams.