How an Opals Olympian helped Grace Berger choose the WNBL
Grace Berger is set to light up Australian courts this WNBL season with the Sydney Flames, and without the push of a certain Opals Olympian, it may never have happened.
After five years at Indiana University, Berger was drafted seventh overall in the 2023 WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever. She spent two years with the club, playing alongside Paris Olympian Kristy Wallace, becoming close friends.
Berger sat down with WNBL Media to discuss how she decided Australia would be her next destination.
“She’s just one of the best people that you could ever meet. One of my favourite people ever,” Berger told WNBL Media.
“Kristy was always kind of trying to get me to go over there [Australia]. She tried to convince me for the past two years, and I was really considering it, but ended up trying Europe.
“I texted her before I did this contract and she convinced me that Sydney was a great place. The beaches, the coaching staff, the players that I would play with and all of that.”
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Another major selling point for Berger was witnessing first hand how her college classmates – Veronica Burton (formerly Bendigo Spirit) and Naz Hamilton (Melbourne and Southside Flyers) – game improved after playing in the WNBL and seeing those improvements translate to the WNBA.
“I’ve seen the progress that they’ve made in their games from going over there, and the WNBA shows up,” she said.
“Some of the best coaches in the world have Australian roots, and are currently coaching in the WNBL.
“In terms of player development, looking at where I am now and where I want to get to in my career, using the WNBL to help develop my game, develop my basketball IQ, and learning from some of the best in the world is something that really excites me.
“There are some of the best players in the world who go over there and play, then they come back to the WNBA and can see the evidence of them getting better by playing in that league, playing against those players, learning from Australian coaches.
“I’m just excited for the basketball side of things, but also just the country in general… They all tell me once I go to Australia, I’m not going to want to come back.”
While playing alongside and being coached by some of the best in the business is exciting for Berger, getting to live in one of the world’s most iconic cities was also a bucket list item for the American guard.
“I always knew that Australia was a place that I wanted to visit… Sydney’s one of the best cities in the world, you hear about that in movies.
“The beaches I’m really excited about, hopefully, I can learn to surf. The food scene as well, I played with Zitina (Aokuso) in Turkey, and she said the food was so much better than it was in Europe and in America, so I have to go see that for myself.”
The Sydney Flames are putting together an impressive roster around Berger. Check out the Flames’ roster and the entire WNBL26 Roster Tracker here.