Interview: Opals Legend Annie La Fleur
HER WAY caught up with former Opals star and the new FIBA Oceania Women’s Basketball Lead
Annie La Fleur was one of the Australian basketball’s stars of the 1990s, winning multiple WNBL titles with Sydney. The 1993 championship-winning team was a star-studded one which featured some of the sport’s biggest names at the time, including Robyn Maher, Shelley Gorman and Trish Fallon, while coached by the legendary Carrie Graf.
Annie was also part of the first Opals team to win an Olympic medal, when they claimed silver at the Sydney 2000 Games.
Today, Annie is still very much involved with basketball. The Papua New Guinean-born legend has a particular passion for growing the women’s game in the region, and early this year was named FIBA’s Oceania Lead for Women’s Basketball.
Recently Annie was at one of the WNBL games in Sydney to see ex-teammate Jodie Craig (nee Smith) be inducted as a WNBL Life Member. It happened to be the same day as the Annie La Fleur Challenge, a Basketball NSW event to encourage participation among teen girls in the state.
HER WAY caught up with Annie to ask about the current state of the game with teen girls, re-living those glory days of packed stadiums, and where to next for women’s basketball.