Chicago Sky’s Kamilla Cardoso, No. 3 pick in WNBA draft, out 4-6 weeks with shoulder injury

CHICAGO — Kamilla Cardoso, the No. 3 pick in last month’s WNBA draft, will miss at least 4 to 6 weeks with a shoulder injury.

The Chicago Sky initially announced Cardoso would miss Tuesday night’s home exhibition against the New York Liberty. But a short time later, the team said the rookie center would be sidelined indefinitely and will be re-evaluated in 4 to 6 weeks.

Cardoso’s injury is a huge blow for the Sky, who were hoping she and Angel Reese would give Chicago one of the WNBA’s most formidable front courts. Cardoso and Reese, the No. 7 pick overall, are also proving to be early fan favorites in Chicago, which is trying to rebuild after losing all its big names from the team that won the WNBA title in 2021.

Brynna Maxwell, taken 13^th overall in the draft, also will miss several weeks. Maxwell has a knee injury, the team said, and will be re-evaluated in 3 to 4 weeks.

Cardoso led unbeaten South Carolina to the NCAA title last month, earning Most Outstanding Player honors after finishing with 15 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in the championship game win over Iowa. A two-time All-American, she led the Gamecocks in points (14.4 per game), rebounds (9.7 per game) and blocks (2.5 per game).

Cardoso’s injury was announced the same night as the premiere of Full Court Press, a four-part docuseries by Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions and ESPN+ that followed Cardoso, Caitlin Clark and UCLA’s Kiki Rice last season. The first two episodes of Full Court Press begin airing Saturday with the remaining two airing Sunday and available after that on ESPN+.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kamilla Cardoso of Chicago Sky out 4-6 weeks with shoulder injury