The Opals’ captain Sami Whitcomb will return for her third FIBA World Cup as she aims to help lead her side to their first world championship since 2006.
Whitcomb is already an Olympic medalist and has helped the Opals to podium finishes in the last editions of the FIBA World Cup. She has been a mainstay in both Australian and American basketball over the last decade.
Whitcomb first played in Australia in 2013 after two seasons in Germany. Her three seasons in the State Basketball League with the Rockingham Flames were a dominant period. She won the most valuable player award in three consecutive seasons and SBL championships in 2014 and 2015.
Whitcomb debuted in the Women’s National Basketball League in 2015 with the Perth Lynx. She earned WNBL All-Star Five honours and helped lead the Lynx all the way to the WNBL Grand Final.
Sami has continued to play in the WNBL consecutively, with her basketball in America playing stints with Townsville Fire and Bendigo Spirit before rejoining the Lynx for 2026.
Whitcomb is playing her tenth season in the WNBA with the Phoenix Mercury, having played six seasons with the Seattle Storm and two seasons with the New York Liberty. She is a two-time WNBA champion as a member of the Storm and captained Liberty in 2021 and 2022.
In 2026, Whitcomb recommitted to Phoenix but has been coming off a knee injury in April; across her two seasons, she has been pivotal to the Mercury, averaging 9.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
Sami first represented the Opals at the 2018 FIBA World Cup and helped the squad to the silver medal. Sami took over the captaincy in 2021 for the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup, where her 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists helped down South Korea to take home the bronze medal.
Coming into the 2026 FIBA World Cup, Sami has been dominant. She earned the MVP for the qualifying tournament in Turkey during March, with her best performance being her 23 points and hitting five threes at 100% shooting accuracy.
Whitcomb will be a critical part of the Opals ' FIBA World Cup campaign, which tips off against Puerto Rico on Friday, the 4th of September.
