Kamilla Cardoso is proud of her Brazilian heritage.
The 6-foot-7 center suits up for Brazil's national team every chance she gets. That includes in the middle of the WNBA season.
Chicago's star second-year center is departing the Sky to represent Brazil in the AmeriCup. She'll be gone for a minimum of two weeks, and potentially three or four.
The timing is brutal. The Sky just picked up a win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday night, Cardoso's last game before leaving.
She had a career night, dropping 27 points. She added seven rebounds and two blocks.
The frontcourt fit with Angel Reese is still an odd one, but it worked against the Sparks.
Alongside Cardoso, Reese put up 18 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and four steals.
For the next couple weeks, though, Reese will have to seize the frontcourt control for herself.
Cardoso shouldn't lose her role when she gets back. She's too good for that to happen. But it may be tricky to reorient things around her right away.
It's brutal timing for a key international tournament, really. But it's happening, and it forced Cardoso to make a decision.
She chose her country, and the Sky will have to figure things out in the meantime.
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