Kamilla Cardoso will make her WNBA regular-season debut on June 1 - nearly a month after sustaining a shoulder injury in the Chicago Sky's opening preseason matchup.
The No. 3 overall pick in April's WNBA Draft announced her return on an Instagram livestream on Tuesday and will play her first game against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever. Sky coach Teresa Witherspoon confirmed Cardoso's health update, telling reporters Tuesday: "I'm going to go with what Kamilla says. I'm trusting Kamilla."
Witherspoon added that Cardoso returned to practice in a limited capacity: "Just super excited for her to be out at practice today. She's one young lady who's ready to play."
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The 6-foot-7 Brazilian anchored one of the most dominant college basketball squads ever. Cardoso averaged a career-best 14.4 points and 9.7 rebounds at South Carolina last season, also swatting away a remarkable 2.5 shots per contest, as the Gamecocks dominated Clark and Iowa in April's national championship game.
Chicago selected another SEC sensation and former national champion with their other first-round pick, pairing Cardoso with Angel Reese to form one of the most portentous young frontcourts in the WNBA. Cardoso fell to the floor during the Sky's first preseason contest, however, just 13 minutes into a productive cameo where she scored six points and grabbed four rebounds, and soon learned that she would miss the next 4-6 weeks of action.
"I would say it's frustrating," Cardoso said tearfully earlier in May. "I never got hurt before, I never had to sit out of a game before in my life, so it's really frustrating. But I know I got some really good people here, they got my back, and I just got to trust God. I believe everything happens for a reason, even though I don't understand the reason right now, but I got to just keep trusting God."
Cardoso's return projects to make the league's best interior defense even more impenetrable. The Sky currently allow teams to shoot just 41.7 percent from 2-point range, the leading figure in the WNBA, and current center Elizabeth Williams has swatted away six shots across Chicago's first two contests. It's on the offensive end where Cardoso's imposing frame will like leave the greatest impact, with Reese and Williams combining to shoot under 40 percent from the floor thus far.
Despite missing the start of her WNBA career, Cardoso has made sure to capitalize on the sport's growing profile while recovering from her injury. The Brazilian international made an appearance alongside Reese in a promo commercial for the NBA Finals entitled "The Toast," and the frontcourt pair got the celebrity treatment at Wrigley Field on Tuesday.
Reese and Cardoso threw out the first pitch at the Chicago Cubs' iconic venue and completed a photo op alongside Japanese pitching sensation and new signing Shota Imanaga. Reese will return to the hardwood on Thursday in Brooklyn against the Liberty, while Cardoso makes her first appearance in 10 days time.
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