Star forward Abby Bishop looms as one of the favourites to assume the Canberra Capitals captaincy this season, with incumbent Jess Bibby admitting it would seem "stale" if she kept the job.
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After four years as the WNBL club's leader, Bibby has stood down in the belief it would be best for the new-look organisation to start again with a clean slate.
The squad voted on a replacement during the Spring Shield pre-season tournament in Bendigo at the weekend, where Canberra won two of its three matches.
The players hadn't been notified of the result on Sunday afternoon but Bishop, veteran Carly Wilson, and returning point guard Kristen Veal, who skippered defunct Logan Thunder, were the candidates.
Bishop is the only one of the trio contracted with the Capitals for the next two seasons, and is one of the club's marquee players alongside Lauren Jackson.
She has the utmost respect from the basketball community after caring for her one-year-old niece, Zala, since she was two days old for personal reasons.
Bibby, who signed a two-year deal in July, will play her 350th match in Canberra's road season opener against Melbourne Boomers on Friday night.
She has her sights set on breaking the WNBL games record of 377 held by Lucille Bailie and Rachael Sporn, and becoming the first to reach 400 games.
Relinquishing the captaincy will help her achieve that, and Bibby said it was time for a new voice with a new playing group and new structure with University of Canberra assuming the club's licence.
"I thought it's time for someone new. A new team with some new players and a new ownership group, it's time for a fresh start," Bibby said.
"It would have been a bit stale if I continued in the role, it's time to head into a fresh new direction.
"Bisho, Willo and Vealy, all those guys are leaders in their own right, and any of those three would do a super job.
"At no point in the last few years has it [captaincy] felt like a burden at all, but I'm in my last couple of years as a player, and it's nice not to have that official responsibility."
The Capitals wrapped up an encouraging Spring Shield campaign with an 88-68 win over an under-strength Dandenong Rangers on Sunday.
With Bishop rested, forward Sam Norwood received a timely confidence boost with a 26-point, 12-rebound display.
Bibby continued her strong shooting weekend with 21 points off 8-11 shooting.
The Capitals lost their first match to Townsville 75-72 on Friday, before bouncing back to beat Adelaide 86-81 on Saturday.
Bibby said new recruits Hanna Zavecz and Stephanie Talbot had shown promising signs they could boost a team looking to end a three-year play-off absence.
"They're two pieces we haven't had at our disposal, their skill set is something we haven't had over the last couple of years," she said.
"Both had patches over the weekend where they showed they'll give us something different."
Meanwhile, the Capitals will have a new mascot for this season. Click here for more details.
WNBL round one
Friday: Melbourne Boomers v Canberra Capitals at State Basketball Centre, 7.30pm
Saturday: Canberra Capitals v Sydney Flames at AIS Arena, 7pm
Tickets available from Ticketek
