Kamilla Cardoso — fresh off her rookie season with the Chicago Sky — has been crushing overseas competition in her first offseason in the Chinese Women’s Basketball Association.
Cardoso has thrived as the starting center on the Shanghai Baoshan Dahua Swordfish, averaging 19.8 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 3 assists. Today, she exploded for 37 points on 15-18 shooting, 15 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals. the Swordfish are 13-7 this season.
Her new Sky head coach, Tyler Marsh, turned to social media to highlight the big performance.
At his introductory press conference, Marsh made clear he sees Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese as the cornerstones of the Sky organization.
“We want to continue to improve and figure out ways where they can score easily or they can still be effective defensively,” Marsh said. “I think it’s important to understand that they are the cornerstones of this franchise.”
In her rookie season, Cardoso averaged 9.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks after being selected with the No. 3 overall pick after a standout career at the University of Southern Carolina. Angel Reese, drafted No. 7 out of LSU, averaged 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game, averaging more rebounds per game than any player in WNBA history. The Sky amassed a 13-27 record, and the organization dismissed then-head coach Teresa Weatherspoon at the conclusion of the season.
Fittingly, to support Tyler Marsh, the Sky recently hired Courtney Paris — a former WNBA player who previously led the league in rebounds — as an assistant coach.
Dominating the WCBA is not quite the same as dominating in the WNBA, but it’s a welcome sign that Carodos, one of the Sky’s most critical players, is having a healthy and impactful offseason. Reese, meanwhile, is playing in Unrivaled, the new professional 3-on-3 basketball league set to tip-off on Jan. 17th in Miami.
Free agency begins on February 1st, and the rest of the Sky’s roster — centered around their young post players — will be solidified then. Whether other standouts from last year’s roster, like restricted free agent Chennedy Carter, will be made clear in the coming weeks.
