Suzy Batkovic

Basketball

Batkovic plays forward and center. She was named the 2001 Maher Medal International Player of the Year and co-won that award in 2008. In 2002/2003 she played for French side Valenciennes, which won the French championships and finished atop the French League ladder. She returned to Valenciennes for 2003/2004, when the team won the EuroLeague Championship.

For 2004/2005 she played with Spanish side Ros Casares. The next season she played for Russian side UMMC Ekaterinburg and was named to the EuroLeague World All-Star team. She played for Ekaterinburg again in 2007/2008. In 2008/2009 she played for Italian side Cras Basket, averaging 17.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game; her team won the Italian Serie A championship, and she earned first-team All-EuroCup honors.

Batkovic was drafted by the Seattle Storm in 2003 as the 22nd pick overall, the only Australian drafted by the WNBA that year. Her friend Lauren Jackson was on the team at the time. She played for the Storm in 2005, appearing in 29 games off the bench, averaging 15.9 minutes, 6.9 points, and 3.2 rebounds per game. That season she played 461 total minutes, made 76 field goals on 174 attempts, hit 45 free throws on 58 attempts, and grabbed 94 rebounds (26 offensive, 68 defensive), finishing with an efficiency rating of 17.7.

She took a year off from the WNBA in 2008 due to injury. She signed with Seattle again in February 2009, with Lauren Jackson instrumental in her decision.

WNBL

Batkovic began her WNBL career with a scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport, playing for them from 1996 through the 1998/1999 season and winning a championship. She then played for the Sydney Panthers, winning another championship in 2000/2001. After a season with the Townsville Fire in 2001/2002, she returned to the league with the Sydney Uni Flames in 2009/2010, earning All-Star Five honors and leading the league in scoring with 24.6 points per game.

She joined the Canberra Capitals for 2010/2011, missing early games due to injury, and was named player of the week twice as the team finished as runners-up. In 2011/2012, she played centre for the Adelaide Lightning, winning both the league MVP and All-Star Five selection. She repeated as MVP and All-Star Five in 2012–13, then signed as a free agent to return to the Townsville Fire for 2013–14.

National team

Batkovic debuted for Australia's senior team in 1999 and has earned over 110 caps. She was part of the 2001 squad that won gold at the FIBA Oceania Women's Championship. In 2002, she helped the team win a bronze medal at the World Championships in Spain. She continued with the national team through 2005 and 2006, but an injury in 2006 kept her out of the World Championships in Brazil.

She remained on the squad from 2007 through 2012. In 2011, she played in test series against China and New Zealand, scoring 19 points in a win over New Zealand. She won a gold medal at the 2011 FIBA Oceania Championship. She was named to the 2012 Olympic team and participated in a training camp at the Australian Institute of Sport in May 2012.

Olympics

Batkovic represented Australia at multiple Olympics. She was a member of the team that won a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

In 2008, she participated in the Good Luck Beijing tournament and was part of the Australian squad that won another silver medal at the Beijing Olympics. She did not play for the national team between the 2008 Olympics and July 2011, when she competed in Olympic qualification. She also played in the 2012 Summer Olympic qualifying game against New Zealand.