As one of the highest paid female athletes in the world and one of the most recognisable faces in Australian sport (male or female), 21 year-old Liz Cambage has already achieved superstar status. Currently playing for Zheijang Chouzhou basketball club in southern China, Liz took time from her hectic debut Chinese season to program a hella smooth and sexy R’n’B playlist for [yellow tail]. Check it out here.
We also discussed her plans for the future, dumpling lethargy, and the pressures of being that dunk girl in basketball mad China.
Given the extremely poor coverage Women’s basketball receives in Australia, Cambage’s household name status is testament to her on-court ability and here marketability. We love an Aussie done good story, and Cambage’s break out season in the WBNA for the Tulsa Shock put her on the international map. Selected as the number 2 draft pick, Cambage played in the 2011 All-Star game and made the 2011 WNBA All-Rookie team. Following her boom season, Cambage went into the London Games as one of the sports most recognisable faces.
All ready a pre-games star, shit got real, real quick, when Camabge achieved worldwide notoriety after becoming the first female baller to dunk at an Olympic games. Playing Russia, with a quarter-finals spot on the line, Cambage took an unimpeded ride to the rim, slamming the one-handed dunk, blowing Australia’s lead out to a game high 8 points.
At the time Cambage was unaware of the fuss her world first would cause. “I have been wanting to do it for years in a game and I always was just going to wait for the right moment and today was the right moment. If the moment comes it will come again,” Cambage said. “I just got the ball at the foul line and went for it. I didn’t really realise I was going up for it until I was on the ring. It hasn’t really hit me yet, but the girls are really hyped about it, it is pretty exciting stuff”
Months later, the fanatical Chinese fans haven’t let the matter rest. “I’m pretty lucky but they (the fans) don’t let me forget it. Every day it’s like, when are you going to dunk it? Why don’t you dunk it? I’m like, okay guys, you gotta chill!”
Not that she’s complaining. Idolised in a nation of over 1.3 billion people, Camabage has enjoyed opportunity to see the country and immerse herself in the Chinese culture. But there have been plenty of surprises along the way. “I’m so over dumplings. I thought that was impossible to do but I was over them in the first week.” Going off her tweets, dumpling overload is not the only culinary curve ball that’s been thrown her way.
With a little over 3 months remaining of her highly lucrative Chinese stint, attention turns to Cambage’s next move. Despite her age, Cambage is already a WNBL legend, making the All-Star Five back to back (2010, 2011), and winning the League MVP in 2011 while playing for the Bulleen Boomers. But a return the prestigious WNBA that looks to be the logical next move, not that Cambage is giving anything away. “I’ll see how I feel after this season. The WNBA is from April to September, so I’ll just see how I feel after China. It’s been a big year.”
Dim the lights and check out Liz Cambage’s smooth R’n’B playlist she created for [yellow tail] here.
Pictures via Liz Cambage’s Twitter and Getty Images.
