Wings' Cambage unsure about return to WNBA in 2019
Liz Cambage has made two things very clear in her ongoing season with the Dallas Wings: She's one of the most unstoppable offensive forces in the game, but her relationship with the WNBA will always be on her own terms.
After the conclusion of her 2018 campaign with the Wings, Cambage will represent the Australian national team at the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Spain, and then join a pro team in China for the so-called overseas season. That endless grind is part of the reason why - despite leading the WNBA with 22.8 points per game and shattering the all-time single-game scoring record with a 53-point tsunami on July 17 - the 6-foot-8 superstar might not return to play in the league for the 2019 season.
"I'll see how I feel after China," Cambage said after the Wings' loss to the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday night, according to ESPN's Sean Hurd. "I think I probably have five days at home (in Australia) for the rest of this year, until February next year. We'll see how I'm feeling."
Like many of the WNBA's top players, there is no true offseason for Cambage, as she stands to make considerably more than her stateside salary by plying her trade on the other side of the world.
"I've said this many times: (The WNBA) doesn't pay my bills ... playing here doesn't pay my bills," Cambage added. "We make more money overseas. I'm ready to have next summer off and focus on getting a European contract where its 10 seasons here worth the pay.
"It sucks because I love to be here, I love to put the game out there, I love what comes with playing here. But at the end of the day, for my longevity, I worry about my body, my mind and my soul. I really don't get paid enough to be beaten up every game. I'm not a WWE wrestler and that's how it feels sometimes out on the court."
Cambage's final WNBA appearance could come sooner than most would have expected during her sensational scoring run a month ago. The Wings, losers of nine straight with just two games left in the regular season, are skidding toward the finish line and face the possibility of missing the playoffs.