{"id":141205,"date":"2026-05-27T22:21:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T01:21:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/new-year-new-kamilla-cardoso-sky-centers-surge-hints-at-new-pattern\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T22:21:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T01:21:52","slug":"new-year-new-kamilla-cardoso-sky-centers-surge-hints-at-new-pattern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/new-year-new-kamilla-cardoso-sky-centers-surge-hints-at-new-pattern\/","title":{"rendered":"New year, new Kamilla Cardoso? Sky center’s surge hints at new pattern"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It looked like the play was dead. Sky<\/a> center Kamilla Cardoso had surveyed the floor looking for an open teammate. But now she was without her dribble, smothered by reigning Defensive Player of the Year Alanna Smith, still well outside the paint.<\/p>\n

Cardoso had a cheat code, though. When you can make strides as large as hers, the basket is never really that far away.<\/p>\n

She ducked under Smith and stepped through for the layup, giving herself a perfect 6-6 from the field in the first half of the Sky\u2019s home opener last Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Her teammates rushed her at the next stop in play, their faces lit up with an \u201cI told you you could do it\u201d kind of joy.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was just really aggressive,\u201d veteran center Elizabeth Williams said. \u201cShe\u2019s able to dominate when she really turns it on. She\u2019s continued that over the last few games, so it\u2019s great to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added veteran guard Rachel Banham: \u201cI just think she doesn\u2019t realize how good she actually is and how good she can be. When you see glimpses of that, it\u2019s really exciting. We\u2019re like, \u2018Girl, you could do this a lot more often.\u2019\u2009\u201d<\/p>\n

Coming off three strong performances, Cardoso now enters a crucial stretch. Is this the same old Cardoso pattern \u2014 flashes of greatness followed by frustrating lulls? Or is she really going to, as Banham said, do it a lot more often?<\/p>\n

With her rookie contract expiring in 2027, Cardoso is on the clock<\/b><\/h3>\n

Since being drafted No. 3 overall in the highly-anticipated 2024 draft, the Sky have been waiting on Cardoso. Not necessarily for her to arrive \u2014 she has arrived, in various emphatic declarations of talent<\/a>. It\u2019s more that everyone\u2019s been waiting for her to decide to stick around.<\/i><\/p>\n

The Sky have always envisioned Cardoso on a path to becoming one of the most dominant bigs to ever play the game.<\/p>\n

Now, with her rookie contract expiring in 2027, the grace period is over. No more excuses for Cardoso, 25, who\u2019s finally surrounded by a highly competitive roster and an offensive system tailored to maximize her strengths.<\/p>\n

Which is why her start to the season was concerning. After a strong opening-night performance against the Fire in Portland, she shot a combined 5-for-16 over the next two games. When the Sky had a positive run, Cardoso was often on the bench, with Williams doing a better job of protecting the rim and stabilizing the offense.<\/p>\n

Then, in Minnesota, something shifted. When star forward Rickea Jackson went down in the second quarter with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, Cardoso responded with renewed hunger: 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocks in a surprise win over the Lynx. She stopped floating. She locked in with more physical, active defense.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know a lot of people talk about my defense and say I\u2019m not very good at it,\u201d Cardoso told the Sun-Times. \u201cSo I took that personally, and I\u2019m trying to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the next three games, she shot 19-for-28, bringing her season averages up to 14.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, two assists and 1.3 blocks per game. Fixes to her technique around the rim helped drive the turnaround. But the biggest change has been in how she sees time. She realized she has more of it than she once thought.<\/p>\n

Time to survey the defense. Time to wait for the right moment to attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I tend to rush my shots,\u201d Cardoso said. \u201cI just need to take my time and try to give them a second move. I think sometimes I was turning right into [the defense]. I needed to start giving them a second move and try to step through.\u201d<\/p>\n

That patience also translated to her passing game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve just got to stay calm and watch the floor and see where the double is coming from,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd find the open players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Small changes. But they made a world of difference \u2014 enough to turn a player who could have been on the trade block by midseason into the kind you stick on billboards for years to come.<\/p>\n

That is, if she can keep it up.<\/p>\n

Cardoso\u2019s new habits signal a shift in mindset<\/b><\/h3>\n

But how do you know when you\u2019ve broken out of a pattern and no longer have to fear it, no longer have to worry you\u2019re still in the thick of it, even during obvious moments of growth?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s lingering evidence that Cardoso could be stuck. In her last outing against the Lynx on Saturday at Wintrust Arena, she poured in 17 points but still came up short on layups. Her defensive assignment, forward Natasha Howard, scored 22 points in the first half alone. Down the stretch, Sky coach Tyler Marsh again turned to Williams to get stops.<\/p>\n

Marsh is honest: Cardoso hasn\u2019t yet reached the level of play he envisions. But her coaches and teammates do see a shifting approach. She\u2019s expecting more of herself. She\u2019s been staying late for extra practice and film sessions. Williams is always excited to see Cardoso\u2019s name pop up on her phone, texting her to set up shooting workouts.<\/p>\n

Williams pointed to one payoff already: Although Cardoso still scores mostly with layups, she has started using a lefty hook, a move she learned from Williams, who thinks she\u2019ll be unguardable once she perfects it.<\/p>\n

Maybe the best way out of a pattern is to simply start new ones.<\/p>\n

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Before signing Poffenbarger, the Sky were down to nine active, fully-rostered players.<\/p>\n

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