Seven Crucial Points That Made Kamilla Cardoso a WNBA Player.

Cardoso was a member of the middle school squad until a nearby private school saw her abilities and gave her an athletic scholarship. Following one competition, Cardoso was approached by a sports agent who advised her to search for basketball chances outside of Brazil.

2. She moved to the US as a teenager to further her game.

In a video of a game from when Cardoso was just 12 years old, Keisha Hunt, the girl’s basketball coach at Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tennessee, who was renowned for producing younger international stars, saw potential in the young player.

Although the principal of the school had to approve scholarships for overseas recruits, Hunt recognized something in Cardoso’s stature and quickness. Cardoso missed a few shots in the video, but Hunt saw past it. Do you not see that’s a six-feet-five 12- or 13-year-old racing up and down the floor as quickly as the guards are? she recalled asking, as she told Syracuse.com.

Cardoso moved in with Hunt and her family and joined the school’s team after Hunt persuaded the principal to make the arrangement. A week after turning fifteen, Cardoso left her mother and sister behind and took a solo flight to the United States, citing her knowledge of just three English words: hello, yes, and goodbye (as she told The Athletic).

3. High school ball helped her hone her skills.

Cardoso first claimed that she felt unqualified and out of place on her new Tennessee squad. She claimed in an interview with The Athletic that she could make layups because she was tall. I didn’t have any additional abilities, though. Maybe this isn’t the place for me to play, I thought to myself.

She did, however, have a very helpful team and employees during her four years at Hamilton Heights. The team played at the highest level of high school competition, and Hunt, in addition to Cardoso’s skilled teammates and rivals, assisted her in developing into a complete player. Cardoso had previously demonstrated her ability to rush down the court and receive the ball in mid-stride while sprinting for the hoop. She became an exceptional passer as a result of her competitors’ persistent blocking of her. Additionally, Cardoso’s teammates called plays in Portuguese to aid with the language barrier.

Under Hunt’s tutelage, she developed her language and on-court abilities, particularly her blocking and agility, and she flourished at Hamilton Heights, where she held the position of captain. During Cardoso’s high school career, ESPN frequently highlighted her “off-the-charts potential.” She finished her senior year averaging 24.1 points, 15.8 rebounds, and 9.2 blocks. ESPN ranked her as the top center and fifth overall player in the class of 2020. In addition, she was selected a McDonald’s All-American, a WBCA All-American, the winner of the Jordan Brand Classic award, and a 2020 Naismith Award nominee for girls basketball.

4. At the college level, she first signed with Syracuse.

As a college recruit, Cardoso’s potential and speedy play caught the attention of several college coaches, including Syracuse’s DeLisha Milton-Jones and Quentin Hillsman. Hillsman described Cardoso to Syracuse.com as a “once-in-a-decade kid” they “couldn’t pass up.” She was also Syracuse’s highest-rated high school recruit ever for the program.

Cardoso accepted a scholarship to join the Orange in 2020 and started her collegiate career with a bang. In her best performance of the season, Cardoso sank 24 points and made seven rebounds against Boston College. By the end of the season, she led the team in blocks with an average of 2.7 per game, and averaged 13.6 points and eight rebounds.

Cardoso also became the first player in the team’s history to be awarded the ACC Freshman of the Year Award; she won Co-Defensive Player of the Year and All-ACC First Team honors as well.

5. Cardoso then transferred to the University of South Carolina.

The Orange lost to the University of Connecticut in the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2021. Soon after, Cardoso entered the transfer portal, confirming that she was looking for a new team and coach.

And she found it with the Gamecocks. On April 30, 2021, the University of South Carolina announced that Cardoso would join the team under coach Dawn Staley, who described her as “a perfect complement to our program,” pointing to the rarity of Cardoso’s “mobility, rebounding prowess, and scoring ability at her size.”

6. She was instrumental in the Gamecocks’s Championship wins.

In Cardoso’s junior year in 2022, the team broke the school record with 36 wins and won the NCAA national championship—the first for Cardoso. And she only built upon that momentum in her senior year. She finished her college career on a high note, earning the most points, rebounds, and blocks on her team and won the NCAA Most Outstanding Player award.

Then, of course, came March Madness 2024, a tournament that (finally) brought a whole lot of attention to women’s college basketball and turned many of the stars into household names. This year’s NCAA Final Four match-up was the most-viewed Final Four in history, and the championship—in which Cardoso and the Gamecocks beat the Indiana Hawkeyes—was the first time that a women’s final drew more viewers than the men’s. About 24 million people watched Cardoso lead her team to complete a perfect season, becoming the first undefeated national champions since 2016.

Reflecting on her team’s NCAA performance, Cardoso told reporters in a press conference, “It was amazing…I just wanted to get out there in this tournament and just play really well for my teammates, for my coaches, and to win the championship. So I think that’s what I did.”

7. She was drafted to the Chicago Sky.

Like all athletes who played during the pandemic-affected 2020 to 2021 season, Cardoso could have chosen to play for South Carolina for a fifth year. But for Cardoso, the decision was a matter of providing for her family in Brazil. Before the draft, she told The Athletic, “Hopefully I can make it to the WNBA. If not, [I’ll] just go play overseas and just keep taking care of my family.”

Cardoso ended up going in the first round, as the number three pick to the Chicago Sky under coach Teresa Weatherspoon. In a post-draft press conference, Camilla told reporters that she had dreamt of” hearing her name called at the draft all her life, and that she’ll remember that moment forever.