Canberra Capitals import Mistie Bass is literally taking baby steps in her return to basketball because her newborn son Braven is setting the pace.
Bass arrived in Canberra just days out from the Capitals' first pre-season clash with her son and husband Shane Boyd, a former NFL quarterback plying his trade in the Arena Football League.
The Capitals will fill the final spot on their roster for the WNBL 2017-18 season on Thursday as they look to end a six-year finals drought.
The daughter of rock and roll icon Chubby Checker, Bass will be doing The Twist - the dance move made famous by her father - if she can help the Capitals back to title contention.
But returning to full fitness will be a slow process - something Bass finds pretty hard considering she barely stopped working out even when she was pregnant.
"I worked out with him the whole entire time I was pregnant. I was still shooting baskets and doing lay-ups up until a week before he came out," Bass said.
"It's better for me to get the overall idea that sometimes you have to take a step back to take two steps forward.
"It's just being patient with myself and just leaning on the process and letting everything come because it will.
"With working out for the past two days, I know I have the tools, I feel them there. It's all muscle memory so it's just more about just getting in shape and getting that cardio that I need."
The 33-year-old forward says Canberra's family-first mantra made the Capitals a perfect fit with her son and husband joining her in Australia.
The WNBL shapes as the ideal league to launch a comeback because had Bass attempted to do so in the Europe "rat race" she could have been run into the ground.
Bass won a WNBA championship with the Phoenix Mercury in 2014 and it took just two practices for Capitals coach Paul Goriss just how much his young squad can learn from the star import.
"What stood out to me is her being able to coach the younger players and help the players already," Goriss said.
"We needed a veteran to show them the way a little bit and help them on and off the court. Mistie has already shown the value of her leadership for our group."
Bass will suit up for the Capitals against Japanese outfit Fujitsu Red Wave at Belconnen Basketball Stadium on Friday night.
It kicks off a hectic condensed schedule with the Capitals to host 10 games at the new National Convention Centre court, beginning with Bendigo on October 6.
"We're going to be smart about [Bass] coming back into training and playing," Goriss said.
"Mistie is one of those ones that wants to work hard and wants to do everything, but we've had a coach-player talk about 'let's do it smart, and let's do it the right way', because we want her to be healthy and fit for the whole season."
