There are storylines a plenty, a plethora of triumphant injury returns and the Parisian backdrop of an Olympic year as the 44th WNBL season tips off this week.
Player movement featuring some of the biggest names in the game, the emergence of young guns and the return, again, of Australia's greatest ever basketballer, Lauren Jackson, have built both anticipation and expectation.
Intrigue surrounds the Townsville Fire with the reigning champions looming even stronger than they were during the 16-game winning streak which culminated in the 2022-23 title.
Coach of the year Shannon Seebohm, who led the Opals for the first time at June's FIBA Asia Cup in Sydney and secured a bronze medal, pulled off the biggest recruiting coups of the offseason luring Alice Kunek back from Europe, landing two-time WNBA champ Sami Whitcomb from Perth then re-signing championship import and grand final MVP Tiana Hawkins, who plays for Washington Mystics in the WNBA.
Hawkins proved her worth at both ends of the court last season, was a workhorse who wanted to play every minute and rose to the big occasion. Her return to the Fire is as big, if not bigger, as any signing in the league.
A former Boomer, Ranger, Lynx and Flame, Kunek has plied her trade in Europe, most recently in a successful Sopron team in Hungary with Ezi Magbegor, and made a triumphant return to the Opals program at this year's Asia Cup as well as earning All-Star Five selection. Her experience, skill set, and IQ was always going to be a big win for the Australian team which won her services and is a shot in the arm for the Fire.
At 35, Whitcomb is a multiple WNBA champion and two-time FIBA World Cup medallist but a championship has eluded her in Australia and by moving from the only WNBL team she's ever played for, in the Perth Lynx, to Townsville gives the star guard the best chance of title success.
Her resume speaks for itself, and Whitcomb lit up the preseason River City Rebound tournament in Brisbane earlier this month in a sign of what's to come in new colours. Meanwhile, the Fire have lost captain Lauren Nicholson and Lara McSpadden who have returned to their home state to represent Sydney, veteran Kate Gaze is expecting her first child in December while import Karlie Samuelson has taken her wares to England.
Lauren Jackson's sensational basketball comeback reached a pinnace on the podium at last year's FIBA World Cup in Sydney then spilled into the WNBL where as a Southside Flyer she lit up the court, filled venues from Melbourne's outer eastern suburbs to Perth, Townsville and everywhere in between then signed every autograph and smiled for every photo afterwards.
Cruelly, in a tribute game celebrating her glittering career at John Cain Arena in February, Jackson ruptured her Achillies. She underwent surgery and rehabilitated her 42-year-old body throughout autumn then winter and has incredibly re-signed for the Flyers.
The Flyers, without Jackson, made the 2022-23 Grand Final series but fell to the Fire, 2-0.
Jackson and her once-in-a-generation game, her undeniable aura and presence could well prove to be the missing piece in Southside's championship puzzle.
The Flyers have welcomed back two of their inaugural players in 2020 champion and grand final MVP and dual Olympian Leilani Mitchell and import and WNBA champion Mercedes Russell who are invaluable both on and off court.
Generation next will be on show throughout the league with young talent embracing opportunity right across the competition.
Jade Melbourne is the biggest name in Canberra and embarks on her fourth WNBL season fresh from her rookie WNBA campaign with Seattle Storm. The Caps won just two games last season but with some more experience around their heart and soul player, happier days should be ahead.
Happy days are also here for Gemma Potter who has suffered more sporting heartbreak at 21 than some athletes experience in their entire careers.
The guard made her WNBL return from an ACL injury in the Caps season opener 12 months ago only to suffer the same injury less than a quarter into her comeback.
Fit, healthy and determined, Potter now gets the chance to fulfil her limitless potential.
It's young talent time in Adelaide where coach Nat Hurst has assembled an exciting list headlined by future Opal Isobel Borlase who last season was awarded Betty Watson Breakout Player and Sixth Woman of the Year awards. She has built on her credentials in recent months representing the Gems at the FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Spain.
Fellow Gem Tayla Brazel, on return from a knee injury which sidelined her last WNBL season, is like a new recruit while Issy Bourne is a new recruit and burst out of the blocks at the preseason tournament in Brisbane and impressed with her offensive output.
Another Gem in Saffron Shiels will make her WNBL debut with Townsville having already represented the Opals, wearing the green and gold senior colours for the first time during a five-game tour of China in September.
Southside Flyers have a pair of Gems who are primed to spread their wings.
The athletic, shot blocking machine that is Nyadiew Pouch will get more minutes and opportunities to grow her exciting game in her second season while highly regarded point guard Dallas Loughridge makes her long-awaited WNBL debut after agonisingly rupturing her ACL in the final preseason game of 2022-23.
Another Opals squad member, 20-year-old Shaneice Swain, who was drafted to the Los Angeles Sparks with pick 14 in this year's WNBA draft, enjoyed a breakout campaign with the Caps last season and has joined Sydney Flames but will have a delayed start as she recovers from a stress fracture.
After leading New York Liberty to the WNBA Finals, Sandy Brondello will return to Australia with Paris on her mind.
The Opals coach will be watching the talent in the WNBL closely as well as a growing list of Australians, which includes Marianna Tolo, Ezi Magbegor, Alanna Smith and Darcee Garbin, who are competing in Europe ahead of selecting a team which will travel to Brazil in February for the Olympic Qualifiers.
A perennial podium finisher since winning Australian basketball's first Olympic medal in 1996, the Opals have failed to win a medal at the past two Olympics (Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020) and will have a point to prove in Paris should they book their ticket.
The Australian league will be the backdrop for a host of players vying and auditioning for a spot and Brondello has made it clear during her reign as national coach that strong form and performances matter.
The WNBL season tips off on Wednesday November 1 with Adelaide Lightning hosting Melbourne Boomers live on ESPN at 6.30pm (local).