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Liz Cambage finds love in basketball

MINNEAPOLIS - JULY 28: Liz Cambage #8 of Team Parker shoots the ball against Team Delle Donne during the Verizon WNBA All-Star Game on July 28, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Adam Bettcher/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS - JULY 28: Liz Cambage #8 of Team Parker shoots the ball against Team Delle Donne during the Verizon WNBA All-Star Game on July 28, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Adam Bettcher/NBAE via Getty Images)

Liz Cambage has rediscovered her love for the game.

MINNEAPOLIS—Maya Moore may have won her third WNBA All-Star MVP trophy this weekend at the 2018 WNBA All Star Game, but make no mistake: no one was having more fun than Liz Cambage.

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The Dallas Wings’ record-setting center was a fan favorite at the event. Minneapolis enjoyed her dancing and dunking in only her second All-Star weekend since her rookie year in 2011.

2018 Cambage is in stark contrast from the one who made her rookie All-Star debut. “I had the love of basketball sucked out of me,” Cambage told High Post Hoops during All Star practice on Friday. “Being a rookie on a team that lost twenty straight, that’s naturally going to happen.”

After a multi-year hiatus playing overseas, she seemed genuinely excited to let loose and embraced the All-Star weekend. She seemed to be in constant motion, dancing every chance she got, with fans, even during timeouts at the game itself. Cambage has perspective now on her rookie all star game and personally where she was then.

“When I first came into the league I was a girl, 19-years-old, I got drafted onto a team that wanted to make me a franchise player,” said Cambage. “I wanted learn, grow and develop, it didn’t happen for me here.”

Cambage joined her teammate Skylar Diggins-Smith to play for Team Parker, finishing the exhibition with 11 points and 8 rebounds. From the tip-off it was her game as she insisted on playing point guard to the delight of the crowd. She also felt that the three point contest could be more inclusive, “We need some big girls in the three-point contest.”

MINNEAPOLIS – JULY 27: Liz Cambage #8 and Skylar Diggins-Smith #4 of Team Parker pose for a photograph during practice during WNBA All-Star Practice and Media Availability 2018 on July 27, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS – JULY 27: Liz Cambage #8 and Skylar Diggins-Smith #4 of Team Parker pose for a photograph during practice during WNBA All-Star Practice and Media Availability 2018 on July 27, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)

She joked with the Lynx Sylvia Fowles that she’d never won on that court and asked if she could get a win. Cambage even joked with the refs when they called a foul on her, “barking” at their call.

After persistence from her captain Candace Parker, Cambage dunked in the closing seconds of the game to become the sixth woman to dunk in an All-Star game. After the game, she stood with ESPN’s Holly Rowe dancing with a tote bag featuring the royal couple Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

“I’m really starting to fall in love with basketball again,” said Cambage. “Playing overseas and in Rio, I’m a woman now, I want to be the player I wasn’t earlier in the league.”

Between the consistent joy in her daily life and MVP numbers, Cambage left little doubt that she’d found that balance she was seeking, all to the benefit of both Cambage and the league’s jewel event.

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