| Kamilla Cardoso | |
| Number: | 10 |
| Position: | Center |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 7 |
| Weight Lb: | 215 |
| League: | WNBA |
| Team: | Chicago Sky |
| Birth Date: | 30 April 2001 |
| Birth Place: | Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil |
| High School: | Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (Chattanooga, Tennessee) |
| College: |
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| Draft League: | WNBA |
| Draft Year: | 2024 |
| Draft Round: | 1 |
| Draft Pick: | 3 |
| Draft Team: | Chicago Sky |
| Career Start: | 2024 |
| Years1: | –present |
| Team1: | Chicago Sky |
| Highlights: |
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| Nationality: | Brazilian |
Kamilla Soares Cardoso (born 30 April 2001) is a Brazilian professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at South Carolina and Syracuse.
A native of Montes Claros, Brazil, Cardoso played high school basketball for Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tennessee. As a senior, she averaged 24.1 points, 15.8 rebounds and 9.2 blocks per game. Cardoso was selected to play in the McDonald's All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic.[1] Rated a five-star recruit and the number five player in her class by ESPN, she committed to playing college basketball for Syracuse over offers from UConn, Ohio State, Mississippi State and South Carolina.[2] She was the highest-rated recruit in program history.[3]
As a freshman at Syracuse, Cardoso was the team's starting center and averaged 13.6 points, eight rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game, becoming the first player in program history to win the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Freshman of the Year award.[3] She shared ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors from the league's coaches with Lorela Cubaj and was named first-team All-ACC by the Blue Ribbon Panel.[4] Following the season, Cardoso transferred to South Carolina.[3] As a sophomore, she was a reserve for Aliyah Boston, averaging 5.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game and helping her team win the national championship.[5] In her junior season, Cardoso averaged 9.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game off the bench. She was named Southeastern Conference (SEC) Sixth Woman of the Year and second-team All-SEC.[6]
On 7 April 2024, Cardoso was named the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player following a dominant 15-point, 17-rebound performance in her team's 2024 national championship win.[7] Cardoso graduated shortly after the 2024 WNBA draft, having majored in psychology.[8]
Cardoso represented Brazil at the 2021 FIBA Women's AmeriCup in Puerto Rico. She averaged 9.9 points and eight rebounds per game, helping her team win the bronze medal.[9] Cardoso won a gold medal and earned MVP honors at the 2022 South American Basketball Championship in Argentina. She averaged 14.8 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game in the tournament.[10] Cardoso led Brazil to a gold medal at the 2023 FIBA Women's AmeriCup in Mexico, where she was named tournament MVP and averaged 10.9 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. She recorded 20 points and 11 rebounds in a 69–58 win against the United States in the final.[11] Cardoso rejoined the national team as they sought a spot in the 2024 Summer Olympics through a qualifying tournament held in the Brazilian city of Belém. During the decisive game against Germany, Cardoso was fouled out after an altercation with Satou Sabally, leading to four free throws that led to a German win and Brazil's elimination.[12] She was still chosen for the tournament's all-star team, with averages of 15.3 points and 11 rebounds.[13]
| Denotes season(s) in which Cardoso won a NCAA Championship |
Stats current as of game on July 16, 2024|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2024| style="text-align:left;"| Chicago| 18 || 15 || 26.2 || .462 || — || .622 || 7.8 || 1.2 || 0.4 || 1.1 || 1.6 || 8.1|-| style="text-align:left;"| Career| style="text-align:left;"| 1 year, 1 team| 18 || 15 || 26.2 || .462 || — || .622 || 7.8 || 1.2 || 0.4 || 1.1 || 1.6 || 8.1
|-| width="10%" style="text-align:center;" | 2020–21| style="text-align:center;"| Syracuse| 24 || 23 || 23.5 || .576 ||.000|| .602 || 8.0 || 0.7 || 0.6 || 2.7 || 1.8 || 13.6|-| style="background:#ffcc00; width:3em; text-align:center;"| 2021–22*| style="text-align:center;"| South Carolina| 32 || 0 || 13.3 || .553 || — || .717 || 5.1 || 1.0 || 0.3 || 1.4 || 1.2 || 5.4|-| style="text-align:center;"| 2022–23| style="text-align:center;"| South Carolina| 36 || 0 || 18.8 || .559 || — || .694 || 8.5 || 0.9 || 0.4 || 1.9 || 1.1 || 9.8|-| style="background:#ffcc00; width:3em; text-align:center;"| 2023–24*| style="text-align:center;"| South Carolina| 33 || 32 || 25.3 || .594|| 1.000 || .659 || 9.7 || 2.0 || 0.6 || 2.5 || 1.5 || 14.4|- class="sortbottom"|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career|125||55||20.0||.575||.500||.662||7.9||1.2||0.5||2.1||1.4||10.6
In March 2024, ESPN+ announced their new original docuseries, Full Court Press would premiere in May 2024.[14] The series (from Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions and Words & Pictures) will follow Cardoso, Iowa's Caitlin Clark, and UCLA's Kiki Rice throughout their 2023-24 season and post-season.[14] [15]