Sami Whitcomb was a 24-year-old embarking on her second professional season in Europe when the Opals last won an Olympic medal in 2012.
That German team went bust and changed the course of the US-born guard's life. Whitcomb took up a last-minute State League contract in WA which would lead to WNBL and WNBA careers, met the love of her life Kate with whom she now has two children, became a naturalised Australian, and mace her national team debut.
Now, the 36-year-old is a catalyst for the Opals who have advanced to the quarterfinals in Paris and can return to the Olympic podium.
As a child growing up in California, Whitcomb watched the Atlanta and Sydney Games, Olympics where the Opals won their first bronze then silver medals.
"I think every kid that plays sports dreams of standing on a podium, it's kind of natural to imagine that," Whitcomb told ESPN while travelling from Lille, where the basketball group stage took place, to Paris for the finals.
"I've always been a realistic person, I wasn't afraid of the dream but I'd never done any USA stuff growing up so it didn't seem like a possibility but it was still a dream.
"You want to be an Olympian and then that focus became becoming a pro and the WNBA then once I got to Australia that's when that Olympic dream resurfaced and became a possibility.
"As the Opals, we want to win a medal and the goal hasn't changed or wavered after losing the first game. We feel like we're hitting our strides and we're excited about that but we know it's going to be incredibly tough, a dog fight but we're prepared for that from the group stage, we're determined and really ready."
Whitcomb has produced a stellar tournament averaging 14.7 points, 6.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds across the three pool games.
Her 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in the Opals' do-or-die win over France on Monday morning put her in rare air with Opals legend Penny Taylor as the only Australian women to produce consecutive 10/5/5 games in a single Olympic campaign.
Perhaps the secret to her France form is in the stands in the form of her family.
The quartet spend a lot of time apart; Kate, three-year-old Nash, and Reef (seven months) were in Perth while Whitcomb played for Townsville in 2023-24, and then there's the WNBA season which Whitcomb will resume with Seattle after the Olympics.
After the Opals won and kept their tournament hopes alive, Whitcomb rushed courtside to embrace her sons.
"That was the best. I really wanted them there and to be able to share the excitement with Kate and the boys if we won. It was really nice I got to embrace them and see them right after and have that reminder why it's so special I'm doing this now," she says.
"I think I feel a bit more whole, a little more complete, because they're here. There doesn't feel like there's missing parts of you.
"It's a bit easier to just exist and do everything I do because I don't feel like I'm missing anything. I can go and see them and get my touch point, even if it's just for an hour.
"They are a really big part of who I am and what I do and it keeps me energised because I'm sharing it with them."
While preparation was limited and a shock opening-loss to Nigeria threw a spanner in the works, Whitcomb says the group has leaned on its chemistry and connection.
"It's always there with this group because we are pretty tight knit, we haven't been together in so long but because we've put so much time and energy into it and building it, when we do come back together it does click pretty quick," Whitcomb explains.
"It was something I think we were counting on helping us and leading us and when our backs are against the wall it's mostly the same group - that (2022) World's team and the additions we've added have slotted in easily.
"It's been nice to feel that because obviously it's not something we had in game one against Nigeria and a lot of things would have helped in that game but I think that would have really carried us across the line despite being such a tough game, it just took us an extra game to get going."
The way the Opals dealt with, what the group described as an embarrassing loss, was as important as the response against Canada 72 hours later.
"To some degree we talked about being here before, we did the same thing at the World Cup (2022) lost to France first up and that was different but in terms of putting ourselves in positions before and it's not about how you start but how you finish," Whitcomb explains.
"We had a players-only meeting, another meeting with the coaches and I think the belief was still there it was just knowing that things weren't up to scratch that game so we knew that was at least a controllable.
"I don't think anybody thought that was going to happen again it was more can we also take care of the tactical stuff - not turning the ball over as much, getting each other good looks, sharing the ball, defensive pressure and connectivity, all the things that make us really tough.
"It sucks to start a tournament like that but it was the thing that put us back on track and got us going, lifted our game and I think it forced us to lean on our chemistry and make sure that is the thing that's on point."
Serbia awaits on Wednesday night, the teams last met in February at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Brazil where Australia won 75-73.
"They're going to dog the ball and have a lot of pressure and that's their trademark. It'll be very physical but our pool play has prepared us for that," Whitcomb says.
"It'll be about handling that and then doing our job matching that physicality and setting the tone and being just as tough on the defensive end.
"We're feeling really good but as much as we're feeling good about the last two games it's about Serbia now. We know we're getting better and we're seeing individuals step up each game and we haven't seen our best basketball yet and that's really exciting."