At the time, van Dyk was carrying a South African team that still lagged behind the Silver Ferns in all other facets across the court, but her presence made her an equaliser beyond measure - as evidenced by the Proteas earning silver at the 1995 World Championships and dumping us out along the way.
About to turn 42, the Pulse shooter has called time this week on a international representative career that we will never see the likes of again.
Like many, I was rubbing my hands in glee in 1999 when the then-28-year-old made the move to Aotearoa. Finally, a true weapon to unleash on the unbeatable Australians.
Yet what forever cemented van Dyk's legacy from that point forward was the medical impossibility that as she got older, the ex-pat actually got better.
Her ball handling, security, physical strength and tactical nous all improved under a series of Silver Ferns coaches who quite literally just had to point, and she would shoot.
Much has been said about the wider development of the code on these shores in the past 14 years, but let us be truly honest.
Take away van Dyk and what were the odds of winning the 2003 World Championship, 2006 Commonwealth Games gold, and the 2009-2012 World Series (now known as Fast Five) titles?
A record of 4796 goals from 5288 attempts for the Silver Ferns at a 91 per cent shooting average, against some of sharpest defenders the game ever produced, does not lie.
Halberg awards followed, as did the New Zealand Order of Merit for the giant who was running out of accolades to obtain.
But with that heightened celebrity came teething troubles - her manager Louise Newcombe's demand of $1.45 million through various methods for van Dyk to return to the Capital Shakers in the national league in 2006 ruffled a lot of feathers.
Yet even here, there could be said to be positives, as the figure put a spotlight on the debate over what professional New Zealand sportswomen should fairly receive for their efforts in comparison to their male counterparts, which still resonates today amid accusations over which ANZ Championship teams are or aren't staying within their $380,000 salary cap.
Today, van Dyk walks away as the game's most capped international (145 tests for New Zealand, 72 South Africa) and after 20 years at the top level, the tears of her compatriots, Maria Tutaia and Laura Langman, are proof she still had not outstayed her welcome.
Even Australian Diamonds coach Lisa Alexander admitted she expected to be preparing her team's defences to counter this generation's greatest player for at least another couple of seasons.
Simple put, literally and figuratively, there are none who will ever overshadow van Dyk.
