Kamilla Cardoso is a professional basketball player from Brazil, currently playing for the Chicago Sky in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). She competed in college basketball at Syracuse and South Carolina, where she achieved two national championships in 2022 and 2024, and earned the title of NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 2024. In the 2024 WNBA draft, Cardoso was chosen as the third overall pick by the Chicago Sky.
Kamilla Soares Cardoso was born on April 30, 2001, in Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil. She participated in high school basketball at Hamilton Heights Christian Academy located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. During her senior year, she recorded an average of 24.1 ppg, 15.8 rpg, and 9.2 bpg. Cardoso was chosen to compete in the McDonald’s All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic. Recognized as a five-star recruit and ranked as the fifth player in her class by ESPN, she decided to pursue her college basketball career at Syracuse, turning down offers from UConn, Ohio State, Mississippi State, and South Carolina. She holds the distinction of being the highest-rated recruit in the history of the program.
During her freshman year at Syracuse, Kamilla Cardoso served as the starting center for the team, achieving an average of 13.6 ppg, 8 rpg, and 2.7 bpg. This remarkable performance made her the first player in the program’s history to receive the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Freshman of the Year award. She also shared the ACC Defensive Player of the Year title with Lorela Cubaj, as recognized by the league’s coaches, and earned first-team All-ACC honors from the Blue Ribbon Panel. After this season, Kamilla Cardoso transferred to South Carolina. In her sophomore year, she played as a reserve behind Aliyah Boston, contributing an average of 5.4 ppg and 5.1 rpg, which aided her team in securing the national championship. In her junior year, Kamilla Cardoso averaged 9.8 ppg and 8.5 rpg while coming off the bench. She was honored as the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Sixth Woman of the Year and named to the second-team All-SEC.
On April 7, 2024, Kamilla Cardoso was recognized as the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA basketball tournament after delivering an impressive performance with 15 points and 17 rebounds in her team’s victory in the 2024 national championship. Shortly after the 2024 WNBA draft, Cardoso graduated with a degree in psychology.
In the 2024 WNBA draft, Cardoso was chosen as the third overall pick by the Chicago Sky. During her initial pre-season match against the Minnesota Lynx, she sustained a shoulder injury that sidelined her for the first six games of the 2024 WNBA season. Cardoso made her debut on June 1, contributing 11 points and 6 rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench during a narrow 70–71 defeat to the Indiana Fever. Following a season-ending knee injury to the Sky’s starting center, Elizabeth Williams, Cardoso was promoted to the starting lineup. On June 8, she started her first game, scoring 13 points and grabbing 5 rebounds in 21 minutes, although the Sky lost 71–80 to the Atlanta Dream. Unfortunately, Cardoso’s season was cut short as she re-injured her shoulder and missed the final two games. Throughout her rookie season, she averaged 9.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg, and 1.4 bpg, ranking second in the league for offensive rebounds per game at 3.0, just behind her teammate Angel Reese. At the conclusion of the season, she earned a spot on the WNBA All-Rookie Team.
For the 2024–2025 season, Kamilla Cardoso signed with the Shanghai Swordfish in the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association, where she was honored as the International Player of the Year for the 2025 season.
Internationally, Kamilla Cardoso represented Brazil at the 2021 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup held in Puerto Rico, where she averaged 9.9 ppg and 8 rpg, contributing to her team’s bronze medal victory. In 2022, she secured a gold medal and was named MVP at the South American Basketball Championship in Argentina, averaging 14.8 ppg, 11.4 rpg, and 2.6 bpg.
Kamilla Cardoso also led Brazil to a gold medal at the 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup in Mexico, earning the tournament MVP title with averages of 10.9 ppg and 8.3 rpg, including a standout performance of 20 points and 11 rebounds in the final against the United States, which Brazil won 69–58. She later rejoined the national team for the qualifying tournament in Belem, Brazil, aiming for a spot in the 2024 Summer Olympics. However, during a critical match against Germany, Cardoso was disqualified after a confrontation with Satou Sabally, resulting in four free throws that contributed to Brazil’s elimination. Despite this, she was selected for the all-star team of the tournament, averaging 15.3 points and 11 rebounds.
Kamilla Cardoso photos
