Missing her first major event with Australia since she was 17 is hard to take, but Lauren Jackson insists she "doesn't have anything to prove to anyone" and can return to her best after a "nightmare" injury run.
The fact she will miss the world championships for the first time since 1998 only sunk in when the Opals left for Europe on Sunday.
The 33-year-old will also miss the opening few games of the Canberra Capitals' WNBL campaign after undergoing hip surgery early last month - her fourth operation in nine months.
But a chance to play with her mates and with the finish line in sight in the toughest period of her career has revived her passion for the game.
"It [missing world championships] was definitely hard for a moment," she said. "I thought, 'I should be on that [plane]', and it's the first international tournament I've missed since I was a kid.
"But the way my body's been the past two or three years, I'm not devastated because I'm here [Capitals]. My doctor said, 'If you go to the world championships you may play half a game and blow your knee out and be out another 12 months'.
"They made the decision, which was fine, it made it easier for me.
"I would have been doing the Opals a disservice by going and not being able to perform."
The centre knows there will be doubters who will question whether she can return to the form that saw her universally regarded as the world's best player.
Jackson signed the biggest contract in WNBL history in 2011, a five-year deal worth almost $1 million from third-party sponsors for her to play three seasons in Canberra.
She missed her first scheduled season in 2012-13 through injury, but will play the next two years for the Capitals.
"I could come back and be just as good as I was. I feel like I was getting to that point again [in China last year] where I was playing that well," she said.
"The only person I have something to prove to is myself; I don't have anything to prove to anyone. I've had a great career and I'm not ageing gracefully that's for sure in a basketball sense. But that's not to say when I'm healthy I can't do things the way I used to, and I'm pretty sure I can. "
She said playing with Capitals championship teammates, including Abby Bishop and Kristen Veal, would help her get back to her best.
"I don't think I've been this excited about getting back on court for a long time. Seeing a few of the old faces definitely made me smile and want to be out there.
"It was great going back to China, but it would have been nicer if I was playing with my friends [in Canberra] and people I care about; that's what I'm really looking forward to.
"It's definitely going to take some time to get the cobwebs out. I'll probably be shooting airball lay-ups for a couple of weeks."
The Capitals have missed the playoffs the past three years without Jackson, but coach Carrie Graf insisted it is not the "Lauren Jackson show".
"We've won with and without Loz, and she would say herself it's not the Lauren Jackson show," she said. "She adds so much to any team she plays on, but sometimes there's an overemphasis on that, externally or internally.
"We"re bigger than we've been the past few years, particularly on the perimeter, and once we get Loz back we've got size in all positions. We won't be stuck on a time line [for Jackson's return], it doesn't help anyone."
WNBL round one
Friday, October 17: Melbourne Boomers v Canberra Capitals at State Basketball Centre, 7.30pm
Saturday, October 18: Canberra Capitals v Sydney Flames at AIS Arena, 7pm
