Kamilla Cardoso has turned flashes into a sustained stretch for the Chicago Sky, highlighted by a WNBA record for most field goals without a miss and a 24-point, 10-for-15 performance against the Las Vegas Aces. Over her last five games, she’s averaging 21.8 p
For the Chicago Sky, it’s been a familiar kind of thrill—watch Kamilla Cardoso get going and the game can tilt fast. But lately, it’s not just bursts.
On Friday, Cardoso set a WNBA record for most field goals without a miss. Then she backed it up on Sunday with 24 points on 10-for-15 shooting against the Aces, doing it in matchups that don’t exactly hand out easy chances.
A’ja Wilson, the reigning Co-Defensive Player of the Year, took notice. “Kamilla’s footwork is one of the best ever,” Wilson said. “It [reminds me] of Sylvia Fowles. the way that she can be light on her feet. the way that she can position herself in traffic. Seeing her growth from rookie year to now, it’s been fun.”.
Zoom out, and the numbers start to look less like a highlight reel and more like a run of real, repeatable production. Over her last five games, Cardoso is averaging 21.8 points and 9.4 rebounds while shooting 75% from the field.
That efficiency comes with context. Cardoso shoots mostly layups, so her field-goal numbers aren’t being tested by the same heavy volume of perimeter attempts. But the shift isn’t only about shot selection. She’s also been finishing through tougher angles. on the move. and over multiple defenders—exactly the kind of work that usually separates dominant stretches from the kind that can be quieted.
Her season has had two gears: a high one where she looks close to unstoppable. and a lower one where she’s productive but not quite a game-changer. These last five games have been her best stretch of keeping it in high gear, or at least near it. Cardoso’s field-goal percentage hovered closer to 50% during her first two seasons with the Sky. so the current form feels like more than a minor adjustment.
Cardoso has often credited her coaches and teammates for putting her in the right spots, and she’s also pointed to the extra work she’s done to clean up details. Coach Tyler Marsh sees another reason the production is sticking, too: composure.
“I feel that she’s done a really good job of not getting frustrated when things aren’t going the way that she wants them to go. ” Marsh said. “Whether it’s coming down and not touching it enough. or getting fouled and the call not going her way. or her man scoring — anything that happens over the flow of the game. I think in this last week or two. she’s been really conscious of not letting that affect her in other areas of the game. which has allowed her to be more engaged and more present. “When she’s playing at the level that she’s been playing at. she’s one of the best bigs in the league. She does things a lot of other post players can’t do. She’s doing it more consistently now.”.
Consistency matters for the Sky beyond Cardoso’s stat line. They’ve also renewed their effort to keep her involved consistently, something that had been an issue earlier in the season. And teammates have noticed what happens when she’s an ongoing threat instead of a occasional one.
“She just creates so much of an advantage for us against other teams,” Azura Stevens said. “It makes all of our jobs easier when she’s being aggressive. When they send doubles, they have to give attention to her down there and it opens up wide open shots for us, cuts all around the perimeter.”
The effect shows up in the team’s scoring. Over their last three games, the Sky have averaged 108 points.
Stevens’ own rhythm has helped, too. After a rough stretch from three-point range, she is 6-for-12.
Still, not every night ends with the kind of comfort you’d want. In Sunday’s eight-point loss to the Aces, the problem didn’t start in the frontcourt. The Aces’ guards overwhelmed the Sky early, with Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young having their way. Skylar Diggins, Gabriela Jaquez and Natasha Cloud didn’t provide the back-end support the Sky needed.
Marsh put much of the loss on the Sky’s defense, specifically their inability to pick up the Aces early enough.
“Once you let Jackie get a downhill head of steam, it’s tough to stop,” Marsh said.
The defeat dropped the Sky to 6-13, with almost a week to prepare for an Aces rematch. But there’s a larger development that can’t be ignored: Cardoso is starting to look like the cornerstone Chicago has been hoping to build around.
In the middle of a season that has demanded patience, her recent run offers something more rare—an All-Star caliber level of play that looks like it might finally be staying.
Kamilla Cardoso Chicago Sky WNBA Aces A’ja Wilson Tyler Marsh Azura Stevens Chelsea Gray Jackie Young