When Kamilla Cardoso arrived at Chattanooga, Tennessee just days after her 15th birthday, Treasure Hunt, now an assistant coach at the Tennessee State, couldn’t believe how tall her newest teammate was.

The Brazilian, who only knew three words in English at the time: “Hi,” “Yes” and “Bye,” may have been listed as 6-foot-6 but her Gig City teammates and coaches certainly feigned doubts. Bless their heart, they were so wrong! Calling Head coach Keisha Hunt’s dad, who’s 6-foot-4, was amazed at the first sight of her would be an understatement: She was built different.

Using it to her advantage, Cardoso contests shots around the rim. With that, she averaged 9.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game in her rookie season the Sky after being drafted No. 3 overall by the Windy City team. Tyler Marsh, the new head coach of the Sky, sees Kamilla as one of the cornerstones of the team. He’s got big plans for her and fellow star Angel Reese, saying, “We want to continue to improve and figure out ways where they can score easily or still be effective defensively. They are the cornerstones of this franchise.” Now it is the Chinese Women’s Basketball Association (WCBA) that is witnessing the flares of her talent, and that too from the debut itself.

In her first game with the Shanghai Swordfish, Angel Reese’s teammate pulled off 25 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, and one block, shooting 64.7% from the field. Since then, she has been averaging 19.8 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 3 assists per game. Marsh even gushed about her overseas performance with a social media post just days back. Wengui Li, the head coach of the Shanghai Swordfish, despite being impressed with her skills, has a piece of advice for her that Cardoso might want to take to heart.

“Kamilla has the best offensive skills of any foreign player this season. My one ask: please lower your center of gravity a bit to avoid injuries! But she doesn’t listen to me (just like my own kid😂). Fans, do me a favor—remind her to lower that center of gravity!” Li said. Not only skills, he also praised Cardoso’s spirit.

 “I’ll give her a day off—she played through the flu on medication. I’m deeply moved,” he said, adding that it was truly remarkable. As for how she’s been doing in Shanghai, the Sky star has been straight-up dominating. In a recent game, she went off for 37 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals on 15-18 shooting. Her team, the Swordfish, has been cruising with a 13-7 record, and the 2024 draftee is a huge reason why. But why is the low center of gravity important?

Staying low to the ground in basketball benefits both offense and defense. Having a low center of gravity helps a player to be more balanced, act quicker, increase the accuracy of dribbling, and protect the basketball. Players who continually stand up straight the entire game only make themselves less efficient and slower players.

When closer to the ground, the ball has less distance to travel from hand to the floor. With that, the ball spends more time in a player’s hands and less time out in space. This limits the defender’s ability to steal it from possession. The longer one can have the ball in possession, the more opportunities they will have to score and potentially win.

Dribbling low puts a player in an athletic stance and this will put them in a better position to react and increase the ability to act quickly. Dribbling tall and trying to make moves can be challenging, as one has to pass the ball further and higher around the body while trying to avoid legs and hips. While playing tall, a simple crossover becomes more difficult as the target a player is passing to is much further away than when playing low.

Indeed, this insight will help Cardoso develop further, as Coach Li says. “She’ll be more confident and take her game to another level in the WNBA after playing with us this season,” the coach added. Here, back in the US, Cardoso’s teammate Angel Reese is also making waves. The Sky really hit the jackpot with her. Her rookie season saw her averaging 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game—making her the most dominant rebounder in WNBA history for a single season until her season was cut off because of a wrist injury.

The Sky may not have had the best record last year (13-27), but with players like Reese and Cardoso leading the charge, it’s safe to say they’re on the up-and-up. Now, while Kamilla is out there putting in work overseas, Angel is gearing up for her next big thing: Unrivaled. And her recent move shows she’s all in.

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It all started after some backlash following a New Year’s Day post, which led her to deactivate her Instagram account. It’s no secret that social media can get overwhelming, but the Chi-town Barbie did what she felt was best for herself.

“I had to step away from the noise,” she said. But you know what? She didn’t stay quiet for long. After re-entering the social media space, she had something to say. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Reese told her followers to go support her Unrivaled team, Rose BC.

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She wrote, “I’m hearing that RoseBC don’t have the most followers on IG? Y’all not real fans frl GO FOLLOW NOW!” It’s a rallying cry for fans to back her team as they get ready for Unrivaled’s inaugural season, which kicks off on January 17th.

USA Today via Reuters

She’s got that passion for the league, and it’s exactly what Unrivaled needs and is all about (women’s sports’ growth). Alongside some big names like Chelsea Gray, Brittney Sykes, Lexie Hull, and Azurá Stevens, Rose could be one of the most popular clubs in the league. So, tune in on TNT and truTV to watch the new fast-paced league live!