WATCH TAB Courtside 1v1 on SBS with Megan Hustwaite weekly on Thursday from 7:00pm (AEDT) via SBS Sport Facebook, or catch up via SBS On Demand.
Jackson is not just an Opals great, she is the Australian GOAT, according to Maher who has coached at the past six Olympic games in charge of Australia, New Zealand, China and Great Britain’s women's national teams.
He helped Australia to a bronze medal in Atlanta in 1996 and then silver at Sydney in Australia, the latter with Jackson spearheading his side. He also led the Opals to bronze at the World Championships in 1998, while guiding China to a fourth-placed finish at the Beijing games in 2008.
Maher recalls managing her prodigious talent when she started out, and the differing opinions on how to do so.
"The one thing that I think I helped her with in particular, besides some fundamentals, was that -- there was a big push from Canberra in particular that said 'we're going to keep this under wraps', but I felt that that was the opposite.
"I could see that she wasn't going to be just Steve Waugh, she was going to be Bradman.
"She was going to be not once in a generation, once in a century."
"So I felt that what she had to do is learn how to handle it. She was so young and coming from Albury, you know, I felt she needed the skills to be able to say 'okay, I am great, how do I live my life?', 'what are my values?' et cetera.
"So I was keen on on not keeping a lid on her at all, but say 'this kid is great, how does she go about her life?'. And what a magnificent career she had.
And once she was up and running, Maher says Jackson was on a different level to the rest of the competition.
"She just could win.
"I remember coaching her at Canberra, before the Athens Olympics, we were 20 down in the semi-final against Townsville, and 20 down against Sydney, and we won both those games. She just wins.
"She just puts the team on her back and wins the game.
"She's won everywhere she's gone. Europe, US... Was it Sports Illustrated or ESPN that had the 10 most influential athletes of the century-- She's an Australian! She's in that even amongst American sports.
"She's just an incredible, incredible player.
In the full chat, Maher opens up on his incredible coaching career, what it will take for the Opals to win gold in Tokyo, and how he became a magician both on and off the court.
The interview is part of an SBS series - TAB Courtside 1v1, which gives fans a chance to get to know more about the unique personalities from the NBA, WNBA, NBL and WNBL, which help shape basketball in Australia.
Hustwaite, who has been covering all levels of Australian basketball for the past 13 years as a reporter, commentator and journalist, will helm the weekly show - every Thursday at 7 pm (AEDT) via SBS Sport Facebook - where she interviews stars of the past, present and future.
Maher discussed numerous topics with Hustwaite, including the following:
0.42 - Over the moon to be inducted into FIBA Hall of Fame
1.11 - How his coaching journey began
2.33 - Powerhouse Nunawading teams and players
3.29 - How he came to coach Michelle Timms
3.46 - She said I want to be at Nunawading and with a team that trains like that
3.57 - When you’re a coach and you’ve got the starting 1,2,3 for Australia you’re in good shape
4.12 - I’m not delusional, I know I was surrounded by superstars. I contributed, I did my fair share
5.34 - I wasn’t fancied for the Opals job
7.39 - Timms, Maher and Gorman were on-court coaches at Oz94 and leading into 96 Olympics
10.24 - Four years later, home Olympics in Sydney and coaching a teenager called Lauren Jackson who was ‘’a pleasure and a joy’’
10.47 - ‘’I could see she wasn’t going to be Steve Waugh, she was going to be Bradman’’
12.40 - Coaching his wife Robyn Maher who was the best player in Australia at her peak
13.25 - Lauren Jackson is the best player Australia has produced man or woman
16.08 - Coaching NZ at Athens in 2004
18.05 - Successful double stint in China
20.51 - Leading GB at a home Olympics in 2012
21.22 - China did so bad in 2012 that as soon as the Olympics were over they called Maher
22.50 - How he became a magician
24.05 - Still coaching today
25.15 - Look ahead to this year’s Olympics - Liz Cambage
26.06 - Shyla Heal
27.16 - The player in the current team he’d like to coach
28.29 - USA has never lost a Final. Only time they haven’t won the gold medal at Worlds or an Olympics is when they’ve been knocked out in the semi-finals
