She looks like a superhero and Ezi Magbegor will strive to lead the Opals like one at the FIBA Women's World Cup, which begins in Berlin on Friday.
Complete with custom black face mask, protecting a broken nose sustained in the WNBA, Magbegor has been unveiled as Australia captain following Sami Whitcomb's withdrawal from the team last week.
The 27-year-old forward is one of the most experienced international campaigners in the new-look team with two World Cup and two Olympic campaigns, for three medals, under her belt.
She was unveiled by coach Sandy Brondello on Wednesday and will be flanked by a leadership group including Steph Talbot, Alanna Smith and Jade Melbourne.
"Everyone is a leader on this team but I want to be the person who is reliable and consistent for the team on the court, an extension of Sandy and show up and being there for my teammates," Magbegor said.
Her leadership style will have shades of the plethora of great captains she's played for around the world including her first Opals skipper Jenna O'Hea, Tess Madgen, Sami Whitcomb, Cayla George and Seattle Storm legend Sue Bird in the WNBA.
"With my personality, I'm definitely an observer and I feel like over the years I've watched different leadership styles and learned you can be a different type of leader, you don't have to be the same," Magbegor explains.
"I hopefully have taken things off each of them and they've definitely prepared me for this moment. I'm still learning and still leaning on the rest of my teammates.
"I definitely give credit to them all."
Brondello said Magbegor had earned her promotion.
"Ezi and I have been on a very long journey together. She made her first Opals team as an 18-year-old in 2018. It's been an amazing career just to watch her evolve as a player but also the leader she is," she said.
"I know she's going to lead this team the right way."
