Just three months ago, four-time W.N.B.A. All Star Liz Cambage said the Los Angeles Sparks was “where I want to be.” Now they’re parting ways, making this Cambage’s third departure from a W.N.B.A. team in five years.
The Sparks announced the split on Tuesday, only five months after Cambage had been added to the team’s roster.
Cambage is a 6-foot-8 Australian, averaging “13 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks in 25 games this season; she still holds the W.N.B.A. single-game scoring record with 53 points,” according to the New York Times.
“It was a surprise — I didn’t know what really escalated it,” Fred Williams, the team’s interim coach, said at a media availability on Tuesday. “A lot of it could have been things off the court, off floor, who knows. Having conversations with her afterward, it just felt it was good for her personally to make that move. All we can do as an organization is support that and her decisions and just move on.” For the team, he said, “it’s a new day, new atmosphere, for us in this gym.”
Eric Holoman, a managing partner for the Sparks, said in a statement publicizing the news that they [the Sparks] wanted Cambage to do what was best for herself, and that she and the Sparks had mutually agreed to part ways.
Cambage has claimed that she will by no means play for her home country. While playing for Australia in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics, she was accused of using a racial slur against her opponents. She has denied all accusations.
According to the New York Times, “Cambage, who grew up outside Melbourne, Australia, was drafted second overall by the W.N.B.A.’s Tulsa Shock in 2011 as a cornerstone for the then-struggling franchise. She took a four-season hiatus from the league before rejoining the team, which had relocated to Dallas and rebranded as the Wings. Cambage joined the Las Vegas Aces in 2019, but only after demanding a trade out of Dallas one year into a multiyear contract.”
Even with sitting out the 2020 season due to Covid-19 restrictions – she caught it three times – Cambage still made it to the W.N.B.A. semifinals with the Aces in 2019 and 2021. After the 2021 season, she left the team as a “free agent.”
For a long time, Cambage had wanted to join the Sparks, entering Los Angeles with a large number of followers on social media. She has also talked publicly about her challenging mental-health journey and treatment for depression, which, she explained, played a part in her rocky start with the Shock.
“I had been living someone else’s dream, chasing that for a minute,” she told the New York Times in May. “But now I’ve realized that this has always been my dream, being here in L.A. and playing here.”
Last year, for the first time in ten years, the Sparks missed the W.N.B.A. playoffs. They added Cambage “to a frontcourt that included Nneka Oguwumike and her sister Chiney, both former No.1 overall picks,” hoping to push the team forward and into champion contention.
Cambage was working through the second-lowest scoring season of her W.N.B.A. career. In June, the Sparks replaced their coach, Derek Fisher, a former N.B.A. player, with Williams, who also coached Cambage in Dallas.
“I think she has room right now to check the temperature of herself,” Williams said.
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/27/sports/basketball/liz-cambage-los-angeles-sparks.html
The Sparks announced the split on Tuesday, only five months after Cambage had been added to the team’s roster.
Cambage is a 6-foot-8 Australian, averaging “13 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks in 25 games this season; she still holds the W.N.B.A. single-game scoring record with 53 points,” according to the New York Times.
“It was a surprise — I didn’t know what really escalated it,” Fred Williams, the team’s interim coach, said at a media availability on Tuesday. “A lot of it could have been things off the court, off floor, who knows. Having conversations with her afterward, it just felt it was good for her personally to make that move. All we can do as an organization is support that and her decisions and just move on.” For the team, he said, “it’s a new day, new atmosphere, for us in this gym.”
Eric Holoman, a managing partner for the Sparks, said in a statement publicizing the news that they [the Sparks] wanted Cambage to do what was best for herself, and that she and the Sparks had mutually agreed to part ways.
Cambage has claimed that she will by no means play for her home country. While playing for Australia in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics, she was accused of using a racial slur against her opponents. She has denied all accusations.
According to the New York Times, “Cambage, who grew up outside Melbourne, Australia, was drafted second overall by the W.N.B.A.’s Tulsa Shock in 2011 as a cornerstone for the then-struggling franchise. She took a four-season hiatus from the league before rejoining the team, which had relocated to Dallas and rebranded as the Wings. Cambage joined the Las Vegas Aces in 2019, but only after demanding a trade out of Dallas one year into a multiyear contract.”
Even with sitting out the 2020 season due to Covid-19 restrictions – she caught it three times – Cambage still made it to the W.N.B.A. semifinals with the Aces in 2019 and 2021. After the 2021 season, she left the team as a “free agent.”
For a long time, Cambage had wanted to join the Sparks, entering Los Angeles with a large number of followers on social media. She has also talked publicly about her challenging mental-health journey and treatment for depression, which, she explained, played a part in her rocky start with the Shock.
“I had been living someone else’s dream, chasing that for a minute,” she told the New York Times in May. “But now I’ve realized that this has always been my dream, being here in L.A. and playing here.”
Last year, for the first time in ten years, the Sparks missed the W.N.B.A. playoffs. They added Cambage “to a frontcourt that included Nneka Oguwumike and her sister Chiney, both former No.1 overall picks,” hoping to push the team forward and into champion contention.
Cambage was working through the second-lowest scoring season of her W.N.B.A. career. In June, the Sparks replaced their coach, Derek Fisher, a former N.B.A. player, with Williams, who also coached Cambage in Dallas.
“I think she has room right now to check the temperature of herself,” Williams said.
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/27/sports/basketball/liz-cambage-los-angeles-sparks.html
