Lauren Jackson back in basketball in team operations role

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Lauren Jackson's first job since retiring from basketball won't be far from the court.

The former WNBA most valuable player with the Seattle Storm and an Australian Olympic team stalwart announced her retirement in March after knee injuries ended a 20-year career.

On Wednesday, Jackson was announced as the executive and commercial operations manager for the Melbourne Boomers of the domestic WNBL.

Jackson will also sit on the board of the financially-troubled team that was formerly known as Bulleen. She and other new executive members are part of an ownership restructuring hoping to save the 33-year-old team.

Jackson says: ''I didn't want to see Melbourne go under. I wanted to be part of something that could be potentially really special.''