Introduction

Elizabeth Folake Cambage, a towering 6 feet 8 inches Australian basketball player was born on 18^th August 1991 in London, England. She is one of the most talented currently active basketball players. Liz has a phenomenal track record, winning many accolades for her national basketball side and professional club. She has been known to be an assertive player on and off the court. Her bad behavior, sadly, has landed the talented player in trouble many times and drew her negative attention. Currently, she is playing for Maccabi Ashdod Club in Israeli Female Basketball Premier League.

Early Life

Liz was born to a Nigerian father and an Australian mother in London. She was only three months old when her parents separated. Her mother moved to her home country Australia along with infant Liz.

After moving to different places, the family settled in Mornington Peninsula. Liz studied at Bishop Druitt College Coffs Harbor until the age of 10. Afterward, she moved to Melbourne with her mother. She studied at Padua College Mornington Victoria and started playing basketball.

Her peers teased her for being tall and won’t take her as a friend at school. She was already 6 feet tall at the age of 10. Liz started playing basketball at the suggestion of her mother to make friends.

Early Playing Career of Liz Cambage

Gauging her skills she became one of the top prospects in the country and was given a scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sports (AIS) in Canberra in 2007.

Her skills and height caught the attention of Dandenong Rangers. The Australian star was signed for the 2007-08 season of WNBL.

Liz was rising through the ranks very quickly. In 2009 she was selected for the under-20 Australian National Championship.

Career Statistics of Liz Cambage

Elizabeth Cambage has impressive career statistics whether playing for professional leagues in the world or the Opals.

• Playing for Tulsa Shock

She played for many sides in WNBA including Tulsa Shock, Las Vegas Aces, Dallas Wings, and Los Angeles Sparks. Her statistics stand out among the WNBA players.

Liz made her debut for Tulsa Shock in WNBA in 2011. Afterward, she took time away from the league. She returned to WNBA by playing for Dallas Wings in the season 2018-19. It was Las Vegas Aces that she signed up for after Wings. In the season 2021-22, she played for Los Angeles Sparks.

She was only 19 when making her debut for Tulsa Shocks and played 22 games in the season. Her playing time per game was 24.3 minutes scoring an average of 11.5 points per game. Blocks per game were 1.5 and assists each game were 0.7.

• Playing for Dallas Wings

The 2018 season with Dallas Wings was a magnificent year for Liz Cambage as a player. She stamped her authority at the WNBA and set multiple records.

She played all 34 games in the season at an impressive average of 23.0 points per game, 9.7 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks. Normally she takes shots from outside the paint but in the season she shot an incredible 58.9 percent from the field.

It was not only her personal best at the time but also achieved a few records. In the match against New York Liberty, she scored 53 points for Dallas Wings leading her team to a 104-87 victory. The previous record was 51 points scored by Riquna Williams. With 22 double-doubles she broke the record of Lisa Leslie which was 21.

• Playing for Las Vegas Aces

She played for Las Vegas Aces in the 2019 and 2021 seasons of the WNBA. In both years she was impressive with her skills and scoring ability.

She played 25 games and scored an average of 14.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game. She shot 54.3 percent from the field. Her performance helped her team reach the playoffs but couldn’t get through the second round.

The same year she was named to the All-WNBA star team and was a finalist for the most favorite player award.

• Playing for Los Angeles Sparks

Cambage played for Los Angeles Sparks in 2022. She scored an average of 13 points per game. She Shot 50.9 percent field goal, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. The Sparks got to the playoffs but were eliminated in the first round.

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Liz Cambage Bow Out Of Contract With Los Angeles Sparks

Liz Cambage preferred playing for Los Angeles Sparks over her national team stating that she is more comfortable playing for LA Sparks as she is much supported. She was drafted for the 2022 season.

She suddenly chose to contract divorce with the team with still Nine games to be played. Liz entered into contract with LA Sparks on a high note stating that she is overwhelmed to be part of the team.

Nobody saw contract termination coming from four time all-star. Although she had a history of sudden departures from teams. Cambage had some complaints from her teammates that they are not giving her ball play.

Yet she has not given a clear stance on her early exit from the contract but she cited that she is stepping away from WNBA and taking time off to focus on her mental health. She was reported to have made a hasty exit out of the locker room after the match. Teammates heard her saying “I can’t do this anymore. Best of luck to you guys”.

Playing Professional Basketball In China

Liz terminated her contract with WNBA and joined the Chinese basketball club Zheijang Chouzhou in 2012-13. She inked a 400,000 Australian dollars deal with the club making her the highest-paid basketball woman player in the world then. She also played for Beijing Great Wall for a short period.

For the season 2018-19, Cambage played for the Shanxi Flames in China’s women’s basketball league. She was the top scorer in the season.

Playing for The National Team, The Opals

Cambage represented the Opals at various competitions including the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games, and the FIBA Women’s World Cup.

See here on an article related to the Australian Opals.

• Representing Opals at Junior Level

Liz Cambage represented the Junior Australian national side at many tournaments that includes William Jones Cup, the Oceania World Qualification Series, and Junior World Championship.

She played a pivotal role in almost all the tournaments that she played at the junior level. In the Oceania World Qualification series, the team won a gold medal and a Silver medal at William Jones Cup.

• A Career at Senior National Side

She got a call for the senior national side in 2009 against China. Liz was part of the team that participated in the Salamanca basketball tournament in Spain in 2010. On the tour to USA and  Europe, Liz was also part of the team.

Olympic Career of Liz Cambage

In April 2012 she was included in the squad for the London Olympics 2012. Young Liz displayed her extraordinary skills at the prestigious sports tournament. She was the key player when Australia beat the United States at the 2012 Olympics.

In a bronze medal game against Russia, Liz successfully dunked the basketball and helped Australia win against Russia.

Team Australia relied heavily on Liz Cambage in the Rio Olympics 2016. She was the leading scorer for the team and helped her team reach the Quarterfinal.

Besides the Olympics, she did well at the commonwealth games. She was part of the Australian team winning the gold medal in the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Off and On Career at NBA

Cambage’s professional career at the WNBA has not been consistent. She has been on and off the WNBA citing different reasons.

In 2011 she was drafted by the Tulsa Shock as the second overall pick. In the same year, she also played the WNBA All-star game.

She left WNBA in 2013 stating that she won’t be playing again. But after a gap of five years, she returned to the court in 2018.

Liz Cambage Stance On Social Justice

Liz Cambage believes in equality for all races in Australia. She has never been shy of voicing her mind. After the death of George Floyd, the Black lives matter campaign erupted all over the world including in Australia.

Liz saw the campaign as double standards. She took to social media platforms and said that there are a plethora of problems with colored people. The Aboriginal and Torres strait islander people are treated differently in the country.

On her Instagram, she posted that she felt better while playing and living in America. The blacks have a sense of belonging in the country.

Liz Cambage opened up about her troubled childhood and early playing career where she had all sorts of trouble. Her peers won’t play with her because of her looks and were racially abused many times.

She added that police personnel interviewed her unnecessarily when she was parking her car near her house.

In an interview, Liz said that she didn’t want to play for the Opals as she has not been protected by the team. This was privy to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where she withdrew from the tournament just 7 days before. She received a backlash from fans for her conduct.

She was heard saying she had “Zero” interest in representing the national side. Liz commented before signing a contract with Los Angeles Sparks that she feels protected and loved while playing in WNBA.

Behavioral Problems of Liz Cambage

Liz Camabage was named to the Australian Women’s basketball team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But was withdrawn a few weeks later. It was revealed that in a training game against Nigeria, she passed racial comments against the opposite players. The footage on the game showed that she had also elbowed a Nigerian player. The game was called off.

Liz Cambage is quite opinionated on social media platforms. In 2021 she was found commenting on social media about the lack of diversity in the WNBA. The star player received backlash from fans and co-players.

In May 2021, she criticized the Australian Olympics committee for a lack of diversity in the Olympics team that opened Pandora’s box.

On an Instagram post, she posted that Australia is publicly discussing the death of George Floyd but ignoring domestic problems. She said that indigenous Australians have been dealt with harshly.

In another post, she criticized a photo of Olympians, taking a dig at rugby player Maurice Longbottom said “Also fake tan doesn’t equal diversity”. She was scathed for the post with netizens asking for her to apologize to him and his community.

Liz Sign Contract With Maccabi Bnot Ashdod Club Israel

After her abrupt withdrawal from the $ 170,000 deal with LA Sparks at WNBA. Liz Cambage has reverted to the court by signing a contract with Maccabi Bnot Ashdod Club which is the Israeli State Cup holder.

The No 1 team in the Division League of Israel includes star players like Natisha Hiedeman, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, and Kalani Brown.

Advocate for Mental Health

Liz has been very open about her struggle with her mental health. She suffered depression and anxiety attacks throughout her career. She has hailed the decision of including a Psychologist in the management of basketball teams. Liz is a powerful voice in raising awareness about mental health issues.

She is a multi-talented person that also works as a DJ and ambassador for singer Rihanna’s lingerie line Savage Fenty.

Conclusion

Liz Cambage touched the nadir of glory at a very young age. She earned a name for himself and her country very quickly. Her career statistics are a testimony to her greatness. Although she had behavior problems recently for which she has been heavily criticized. But history will remember her as one of the greats of the game.