Alanna Smith can complete her breakout season at new club Minnesota with a title but she'll need to navigate past her Opals coach to do it when the WNBA Finals begin in Brooklyn.
New York Liberty, coached by former Opals playmaker and current mentor Sandy Brondello, hold home-court advantage in the five-game Finals series that begins at Barclays Centre on Thursday (Friday morning AEDT).
One of them will complete a dream two months, able to boast a title and an Olympic bronze medal after the Opals' inspired run to the podium in Paris in August.
A former eighth pick in the WNBA draft, 28-year-old forward Smith debuted for Phoenix Mercury in 2019 and played two seasons before bouncing from Indiana to earn a starting role at Chicago and then landing at the Lynx this year.
As one of three new Lynx starters she averaged 10.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals in 26 minutes per game this regular season, earning All-Defensive second team honours alongside Opals teammate and Seattle star Ezi Magbegor.
Brondello said the entire national squad - eight played in the WNBA this season - were still on "cloud nine".
"What we were able to achieve, after a terrible opening game (loss to Nigeria)," Brondello told AAP.
"I still feel great ... if I can get this done, I'll be able to sit back and reflect even more.
"To win a championship, it'd go down as one of the greatest seasons ever."
Lynx are anchored by Napheesa Collier and relied on the arrivals of Smith, Courtney Williams and Bridget Carleton to improve their side while Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones lead a stacked Liberty side.
Liberty remain the only foundation WNBA franchise without a title, having lost in all five of their previous Finals appearances.
