Brazil’s 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso has always been one of the tallest people in whatever room she’s in. That’s what happens when you’re as tall as she is at twenty-two years old. Now, as the third pick in the WNBA draft by the Chicago Sky, Cardoso will be moving on to a league where she’s far from the tallest, and she will have to compete hard to be among the most talented.
That, however, is the dream — a dream that started in Montes Claros, Brazil, and led her to move to the US when she was 15, even though she didn’t know English. That dream followed her to the NCAA — first with Syracuse and then with South Carolina, where she won a National Championship and was named Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament.
In between, though, that dream also saw her represent her home country, Brazil. Brazil’s national team coach José Neto, believes she can do more than just represent Latinas in the WNBA.
“Kamilla, in my opinion, can be dominant in the WNBA,” he told ESPN. “Because she played against great players in the FIBA tournaments and played great against these tournaments, so I believe Kamilla can be [a] big player in the WNBA.”
Cardoso could have returned to South Carolina and used a fifth COVID year of eligibility, but instead chose to enter the WNBA after her senior season. Now, she’ll be playing in Chicago with fellow standout Angel Reese, and fulfilling her dream of supporting her family.
“I had a goal to be here tonight and give my family a better life, so I’m just so thankful that I was able to be here,” Cardoso said during the draft.
As for what’s coming, Cardoso isn’t just here to play in the WNBA. She wants to win. And she already promised fans that, with Reese by her side, “Nobody is going to get any rebounds on us.”