Superstar Australian athlete Erin Phillips has announced her retirement from professional basketball after a glittering career spanning 16 years.
However she intends to continue her career with the Adelaide Crows in the AFL Women's competition after dominating the inaugural season last year for as long as she possibly can.
Phillips was a mainstay in the Opals side for many years while also enjoying extended stints in America's WNBA and in Europe.
The 32-year-old was part of Australia's gold medal-winning side at the 2006 world championships in Brazil, while she also collected silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and bronze at the 2014 world championships in Turkey.
She said she kept putting off her decision to retire as she held on to the slim chance she would be able to represent Australia in basketball at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in April.
Phillips said it was an emotional moment for her when she finally realised it was impossible to juggle football, family and national representation but she needed to make the decision ahead of the upcoming AFLW season.
"I owe a lot to the game of basketball," Phillips said.
She said the game had taken her to the place she now found herself, which is a star of the burgeoning AFL Women's competition, and that competitive instinct still burned within.
"Until I walk off the footy field, and hopefully it's not for another few years, I will always have that burning desire to keep getting better," Phillips said.
However, the Opals' failure to capture a medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics still churns in her gut and she admits the pain will probably never fully leave her.
"You know those stories where an athlete announces their retirement and rides off into the sunset, happy and content with how it all finished? This isn't one of them," she told Players Voice.
"I had never really considered that the last game I'd play for Australia could be the one that hurt most.
"It was at the Rio Olympics; the quarter-final against Serbia. We were ranked No.2 in the world and had high hopes ahead of the tournament.
"We were unbeaten in the group phase, but after an abysmal 26 turnovers, it all came to a painful end to the 14th-ranked Serbians. It was the first time since 1992 the Opals hadn't won a medal."
Phillips will now turn her attention to footy and basketball coaching.
Once the second AFLW season concludes, she will take up a full-time assistant role at her former WNBA team the Dallas Wings.
"I absolutely feel like I've given basketball everything and I know in my heart it's time," she said.
Phillips had a dream 2017 AFLW campaign with the Crows, winning the premiership, the league best and fairest, AFLW Players' MVP, the grand final best-on-ground award and the goal of the year. She was also named All-Australian vice-captain.
The Crows kick off their season with a practice match against Fremantle in Darwin this weekend.
