Dawn Staley wastes no time taking to social media to make Kamilla Cardoso point

Dawn Staley has lauded her former player Kamilla Cardoso after the center starred in the Chicago Sky ’s WNBA win over the Los Angeles Sparks .

South Carolina head coach Staley is one of the biggest supporters of her former graduates. Staley has molded the likes of A’ja Wilson and Aliyah Boston, but now Cardoso has taken the plaudits and center stage.

The WNBA returned following a month-long break during the Olympics as Cardoso and the Sky returned to action with a 90-86 win over the Sparks. The 23-year-old had been out of sorts before the break as she battled injury but found her best on her long-awaited return to action.

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Cardoso scored 15 points, and recorded a career-high total of 14 rebounds, two blocks and three assists – playing the third most amount of minutes in the Chicago team behind Angel Reese and Rachel Banham.

Staley took to social media to support her former player after the Brazilian had come under fire for her performances before the break. Reacting to Cardoso’s stats on X, Staley wrote: “Play with Killa if you want! @Kamillascsilva keep proving these hater wrong! They’re so fair weather! We are riders over here!! @GamecockWBB”

Cardoso played three years under Staley at South Carolina, winning two NCAA Championships. She averaged 9.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and two blocks during her spell. Cardoso was named the 2023/24 season’s SEC Defensive Player of the Year and won the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player in the same season.

The Brazilian moved to America as a 15-year-old where she played high school for the Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Cardoso later committed herself to the Syracuse Orange for freshman before transferring to South Carolina. Her success saw her selected as the third overall pick in the 2024 draft by the Sky, ahead of fellow Chicago rookie Reese, who was the seventh overall selection.

After their triumphant 2024 NCAA Tournament final, Cardoso lauded Staley as an “inspiration”, she said. "She's like an inspiration for me and a lot of young girls out there and I'm just so thankful to have her as a coach. She's the best in the business you already know and she's just like a family for me, a family (away) from my home and I'm just so thankful to have her as a coach."

Cardoso later praised Staley during an interview with NBC Sports in June, referring to her as a “second mother”. “She [Staley] always taught me to just trust the process, just believe in myself," Cardoso said. "She’s been an amazing coach…I’m really thankful to have someone like her in my life. I always say she’s like my second mother, she took care of me while I didn’t have my family.”