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By Joshua Heron
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – A young Rebecca Allen was the first to wake, wipe her eyes and rise out of bed in her Australian household on Christmas mornings. Her mission: wake up her parents and brother. The Phoenix Mercury guard cherishes the December holiday and, even more so, family, but her consistent Christmas morning routine reflects her commitment to applying herself to whatever she loves.

At roughly 12, she found a new love: basketball. This love has provided Allen with a resume that includes a 2018 FIBA World Cup silver medal and an eight-year WNBA career, but also difficult setbacks.

Allen withdrew from the Paris Olympics after she suffered a high-grade hamstring injury in the Opals’ final exhibition match against Canada last Tuesday. Without its star, the medal contenders, thanks to 26 turnovers, suffered an upsetting 75-62 defeat to Nigeria in its first group phase match Monday.

Allen responded to the news of her injury on X, formerly Twitter, saying that she was “Shattered.”

“I feel terrible for Bec,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said. “These are opportunities you dream of as a kid – an opportunity to represent your country against the best in the world – and it’s taken away from you right before the Olympics. It’s devastating.”

In early July, Allen revealed she was excited to hear the Australian national anthem and wear the green and gold with her “sisters.” Additionally, she hoped to “enjoy” this Olympics with her family in Paris, adding that the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics was “tough” due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, despite the hindrance, Allen’s maturity displayed through past hardships offers hope for Mercury and Opals fans alike. Allen played through two broken ribs and a collapsed lung in the 2022 FIBA World Cup en route to a bronze medal for the Opals.

The New York Liberty traded Allen to the Connecticut Sun in Jan. 2023, three months after the World Cup concluded. The move meant Allen had to migrate from the place that welcomed her to the country eight years earlier. After a solid lone season with the Sun, Allen decided to return to Valencia Basket in Spain during the offseason but requested leave midway through the season due to mental health struggles.

“It’s sort of funny because I now look at those things as my biggest blessings,” Allen said on June 26. “I think that in some ways, obviously, the lung injury was very bad; it wasn’t as good. So, it was one of my hardest moments. But it allowed me to come back and sort of build up my foundation of who I am, work on my game, and then come back over here.”

With her career in Europe over, Allen had more time to visit Australia and commune with family. Moments with her twin brother, Chris, provide solace when she misses home during the WNBA season since they have done “every stage of life together,” Allen said.

Chris, who praised his sister for her “charismatic” attitude and as one who “draws people together,” recognized her commitment to basketball through her mental health struggles and injury plagues.

“To be hit mentally, you’re like, ‘Ahh again, I have to go through the same emotions,’ but she’s never not done the rehab,” Chris said. “Some people don’t do the rehab, don’t do the work, and then you don’t come back. And then there are times when you think, ‘Am I going to get back to where I’m smashing (basketball)?’ And then you finally get your chance to start playing, and then you get injured again. But she’s kept working and building back.”

The Mercury acquired the 6-foot-2 defensive-minded forward in January via trade from the Sun. While in new territory, she wasn’t the only player with Australian ties. Mercury guard Natasha Cloud played for WNBL team Townsville Fire in Australia from 2016-2017 after playing in Turkey the prior year during the WNBA offseason. After tearing her hip labrum in Turkey and receiving poor treatment, Cloud deemed the move to Australia critical to her career.

“Going into Australia was like almost a rebirth for my overseas career to know that there were places that were going to take care of me, that were going to support me and take care of my body the way that it should be,” Cloud said.

When discussing Allen, Cloud said that she believes Australian players “do the right things” and appreciates their work ethic. Allen and Cloud are both first-year Mercury players.

Allen admires the franchise’s culture, labeling it as one that uplifts others. Tibbetts confirmed her sentiments about the culture when he reaffirmed his belief in his player’s ability to endure and recover from the hamstring injury.

“Bec is the ultimate professional, and I have no doubt she will bounce back from this setback and come back stronger than ever,” Tibbetts said.

From putting on an Opals jersey for the first time in 2011 to boarding a flight to America in 2015 to play for the Liberty to offering the Mercury a needed defensive presence today, her story inspires Chris.

“She’s a fighter,” he said. “And because she hadn’t played when she was younger, what inspires me is that she pushed herself to get better as she’s gotten older.”

He added that her life encourages Australians to “go over to America, to go to Europe to be challenged at all levels.”

Chris and his wife expect a daughter on Nov. 11, five days before his and Allen’s birthday. A few constants remain from Allen’s previous recovery times: grabbing coffee and her love for her favorite rom-com, “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.”

But during this recovery period, Allen has a newfound love to look forward to: her niece. And she is coming right in time for her favorite holiday. Allen can rest assured that her journey will influence her new family member in all its trials and triumphs.

“I’m hoping to push the young daughter to be a basketball player as well,” Chris said. “I also hope to get her over there for an aunty-for-niece trade later on.”

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