Rachael Pamela Sporn is an Australian former
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
player and three-time Olympian.
Career
Born in
Murrayville,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
,
Rachael Pamela Sporn debuted in the
Women's National Basketball League
The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is a professional women's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australia composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the Women's sports, women's counterpart to the Na ...
(WNBL) in 1986 with the
West Adelaide Bearcats. After four seasons with the Bearcats, she joined the
North Adelaide Rockets
North Adelaide Rockets is a NBL1 Central club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The club fields both a men's and women's team. The club is a division of the overarching North Adelaide Basketball Club (NABC), the major administrative basketball ...
where she won her first
WNBL championship in 1990. After two seasons with the Rockets, she returned for a season with the Bearcats in 1992 before joining the
Adelaide Lightning
The Adelaide Lightning are an Australian professional basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The club is based in the city of Adelaide, South Australia, and will play their home games at the State Basketball ...
in 1993.
Sporn played 12 seasons for the Adelaide Lightning between 1993 and 2004.
She was twice named
WNBL MVP and was an eight-time
WNBL All-Star Five
The All-WNBL Team is an annual Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) honour bestowed on the best performing players in the league following every WNBL season. From 1988 to 2018–19, the honour was known as the All-Star Five. As of 2020, it is ...
honouree. She finished her career as the WNBL's all-time points and rebounding leader.
She also played three seasons for the
Detroit Shock
The Detroit Shock were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006, and 2008 WNBA champions.
Debuting in 1998, the Shock were one of the league's first expansion franchises. Th ...
of the
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.
The WNBA w ...
(WNBA).
Sporn played 304 games for the
Australia women's national basketball team
The Australia women's national basketball team, nicknamed the Opals after the brightly coloured gemstone common to the country, represents Australia in international basketball. From 1994 onwards, the Opals have been consistently competitive ...
, the Opals, earning three Olympic Games medals – two silver medals (2000 and 2004) and a bronze (1996). She also competed at the
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
in 1990, 1994 and 1998.
Sporn is a member of the
Australian Sports Hall of Fame and the
Australian Basketball Hall of Fame
The Australian Basketball Hall of Fame was instituted by the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1998 as the ''NBL Hall of Fame'' as part of their 20th season celebrations. The NBL initiated the Hall of Fame to recognise the outstanding players ...
.
She was awarded the
Australian Sports Medal
The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, off ...
in 2000 and the
Centenary Medal
The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...
in 2001.
In 2007, Sporn's number 14 jersey was retired by the Adelaide Lightning. In September 2023, Sporn and the Lightning agreed to un-retired her jersey.
Personal life
Sporn's older brother,
Kieran, is a former
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
er.
Sporn and her husband, Maurie Ranger, have two children.
As of 2019, they live in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
.
In 2015, Sporn was awarded the Medal of the
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...
.
Career statistics
WNBA
Source
Regular season
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
, style="background:#D3D3D3", 30° , , 1 , , 17.8 , , .408 , , – , , .500 , , 3.6 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , .4 , , 1.1 , , 4.5
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
, 18 , , 10 , , 18.9 , , .468 , , .000 , , .643 , , 3.3 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .2 , , .9 , , 5.9
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
, 23 , , 1 , , 11.5 , , .404 , , – , , .333 , , 2.3 , , .5 , , .3 , , .2 , , .6 , , 1.8
, -
, style="text-align:left;", Career
, style="text-align:left;", 3 years, 1 team
, 71 , , 12 , , 16.1 , , .427 , , .000 , , .536 , , 3.1 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .3 , , .9 , , 4.0
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sporn, Rachael
1968 births
Living people
Adelaide Lightning players
Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States
Australian women's basketball players
Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Basketball players from South Australia
Detroit Shock players
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Olympic basketball players for Australia
Olympic bronze medalists for Australia
Olympic medalists in basketball
Olympic silver medalists for Australia
People from Murrayville, Victoria
Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
Forwards (basketball)
Sportswomen from South Australia
20th-century Australian sportswomen
21st-century Australian sportswomen