What happened to Liz Cambage? What we know about former WNBA All-Star after shocking release in 2022

Sara Tidwell

What happened to Liz Cambage? What we know about former WNBA All-Star after shocking release in 2022 image

Liz Cambage had been a dominant force in the WNBA since she was drafted No. 2 overall in 2011.

But, not for many good things.

Sure, the four-time WNBA All-Star was a prolific scorer at the five and made solid use of the boards, but she was also known as the league trash talker. The town gossip. The one who always had an issue or a bone to pick.

She seemingly ran her mouth about anything and everything and it, eventually, ran her out of town.

MORE: Reasons why Liz Cambage left WNBA, Sparks extend beyond player pay mentioned on Instagram post

Let's take a look at what happened to Cambage after she made an abrupt exit from the Los Angeles Sparks mid-2022 season and what she's up to now.

What happened to Liz Cambage?

Cambage joined the Los Angeles Sparks in February 2022 as a free agent.

She'd previously spent three years with the Las Vegas Aces, playing in 2019 and 2021, and sitting out in 2020 with health concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, not even six months later, and it was rumored that Cambage "wanted out" of L.A.

So, the 31-year-old and the franchise agreed to a contract divorce on July 26, 2022.

MORE: Liz Cambage, Sparks agree to contract divorce: What's next for Australian WNBA star?

The star center left the WNBA and the Sparks abruptly, and just shortly after the annual All-Star extravaganza. She had posted on Instagram that she had "decided to step away from the league for the time being," citing several different reasons including player empowerment, support and compensation.

The post has since been deleted.

What did Liz Cambage do?

Controversy has surrounded Cambage for years now, and she's known as one of the more outspoken athletes in both America and Australia.

Cambage had issues with former Connecticut Sun coach Curt Miller when a heated conversation broke out between the pair on the sidelines on May 23, 2021. She had said on her Instagram story that Miller disrespected her by saying she weighed 300 pounds, and that there's a big difference between player trash talk and a coach getting involved.

The league suspended Miller for a game and fined him $10,000, as reported by Yahoo Sports.

Another example involves the Sparks, where she requested a jersey number change. She wanted No. 8, but the Sparks retired that in honor of DeLisha Milton-Jones, so she went for No. 1 instead, which was already owned by Amanda Zahui B., per Just Women's Sports.

Even though Zahui B. declined the swap, management went over her head. She was later suspended for the 2022 season, though the events are conceived to be unrelated.

Other things Cambage did while on the Sparks, mind you she only played 25 games, was criticize her teammates during film sessions and accuse them of not passing her the ball, just looking her off, Just Women's Sports said.

And there is a whole lot more, as Cambage came with a lot of Cam-baggage, many have said.

One of the most shocking incidents, Yahoo Sports reported, was leading up to the Tokyo Olympics. Cambage — who is an Australian citizen and a member of their national team — had allegedly called some of the Nigerian players "monkeys" during training camp. She ended up withdrawing weeks prior to the tournament over mental health concerns.

Where is Liz Cambage now?

The Athletic reported on March 3 that Cambage had officially signed with Maccabi Bnot Ashdod in Israel, adding another country to her international résumé, alongside China, Australia and New Zealand.

Ashdod is also home to several other WNBA players, including Natisha Hiedeman from the Sun, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough from the Mystics and Kalani Brown from the Wings.

It was the top team in the Israeli Division I league, going 16-2 to win the regular season championship title and the cup in 2022-23. Cambage averaged 19 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, appearing 14 times for Ashdod.

Liz Cambage WNBA career stats

Below are the regular season averages Cambage brought in during her six-year WNBA career, between the Tulsa Shock (now Dallas Wings), the Wings, the Aces and the Sparks.

  PTS FG% 3F% FT% REB AST STL BLK
Career 15.8 0.539 0.28 0.758 7.5 1.6 0.7 1.6

She racked up a total of 2,634 points and 1,258 rebounds over that period.

 

Sara Tidwell

Sara Tidwell Photo

Sara Tidwell is an editorial intern with The Sporting News. A native to Michigan's Thumb region, she received her Bachelor's degree in journalism from Michigan State University. Previous bylines include the Detroit News, Cincinnati Enquirer, Hartford Courant and The State News.