Storm celebrates Jackson's decade

Thinking back, Storm CEO Karen Bryant couldn't believe her youth.

Wanting everything to be perfect for their inaugural No. 1 overall draft pick's arrival, Bryant organized a limo ride from the airport, accessorizing the interior with a crisp Storm jersey and champagne. The mapped route to the former training facility at Seattle Center was along Highway 99 to remind the young 19-year-old of her Australian roots — looking at Puget Sound and the Seattle skyline.

Then there was the capper: A pop CD from Australian band Savage Garden.

"What the hell was I thinking?" said Bryant of the move to make a good first impression with Lauren Jackson by playing music from her native country.

Modest, Jackson wondered the same thing.

"Why are they trying so hard? Mom, I'm scared," she recalled telling her mother, who accompanied her after being drafted in April 2001.

Now knowing the Aussie is more hard rock than bubblegum pop, the Storm plans to make another fuss over Jackson on Saturday, celebrating her decade with the organization when Seattle hosts Tulsa at KeyArena. It's been 10 years since that peculiar limo ride, but led by Jackson, the Storm is on its best ride yet.

Seattle has won the regular-season Western Conference title for the first time in the franchise's 11-year history and accumulated a franchise-best 23 wins with seven games remaining.

Barring a monumental closing collapse by the Storm, Seattle will have the WNBA's top overall record headed into the playoffs, securing home court throughout. And Jackson is the leading candidate for a third MVP award, averaging 21.7 points and 8.7 rebounds.

"I always played against her and I hated it," said Storm forward Svetlana Abrosimova, who is Russian and competed against Jackson in international play as well as in the WNBA. "She was one of those young people who didn't care about anybody, just played, played hard and was really good — unconscious. She went out and did her thing and everybody was like — whoa! Who is this? This girl is going to be amazing. She was only 17 and she was playing at Lisa Leslie's level. Australia never had anybody physical, or anybody super quick. And when you have a post player who can shoot the ball that well from anywhere, move so well? It's a pain in the neck to figure out how to stop her."

Jackson, 29, still believes there are things she and her team could improve on, however. She worked with Australian star Ed Palubinskas on her free-throw shooting during the offseason, which Palubinskas said helped her overall shooting from the field, too. Jackson is shooting 90.6 percent from the line and 46.8 percent from the field, but a sprained left thumb suffered Sunday has hindered that progress slightly.

The Storm wants to sharpen its defense and build more chemistry with the reserves before the postseason while remaining healthy. Jackson, a 6-foot-5 forward, missed the past two playoffs due to ankle surgery (2008) and two stress fractures in her lower back (2009).

"Lots of things happen during the course of the season," Jackson said recently, never caring about the 13-game winning streak or being undefeated in 14 games at KeyArena. " ... This season just feels a little more complete than we've had in a while. We're a lot deeper, and there's a very positive feeling."

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com