he future of the WNBA appears so bright, you might need a new pair of shades. Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink is generating buzz already as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, while the only player picked before her, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, is already the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year honors amid her team’s struggles to pick up wins.

But Chicago is home to two emerging WNBA stars — one of whom has yet to make her debut in the W. While Angel Reese is already earning plaudits for her tenacity and her defense with the Sky, Kamilla Cardoso — the third overall pick in the loaded 2024 draft — is still recovering from a shoulder injury suffered during the preseason. Yet, like the rest of us, Cardoso is watching in the early days of this season, and she took it upon herself to address some of the narratives she is seeing.

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Cardoso: The WNBA’s growth is not about Clark or any one person

Cardoso on Saturday went live on Instagram, where she tackled the notion that the WNBA’s growth — seen in the introduction of charter flights and signature shoe deals — can be boiled down to Clark‘s arrival in the league last month, when the Fever took her #1 overall following a superb college career at the University of Iowa.

“I have one thing to say about this. All of our games are sold out,” Cardoso said. “So it’s not because of one person. And goodbye, that was the last thing I’m going to say about this.”

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Even without Cardoso, Reese and the Sky have started the 2024 season well, and the franchise’s rebuild already appears to be ahead of schedule. The Sky are 2-2 after dropping a close game to the Connecticut Sun on Saturday night, an 86-82 defeat which saw Connecticut star Alyssa Thomas ejected for a hard foul on Reese.

Cardoso is due to return from her injury next week — just in time for the Sky’s first matchup with Clark’s Fever, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Cardoso, whose South Carolina Gamecocks defeated Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes in the NCAA championship game just last month, will get a chance to prove that the league is — and will continue to be — much more than the successes or failures of a single player.