Liz Cambage 'quits' Sparks, agrees to contract divorce with Los Angeles

Los Angeles Sparks centre Liz Cambage has quit the team after less than a season in California and the two sides have agreed on a contract divorce.

Mike Robinson, the editor in chief for The Ball Out, was the first to report on Monday that Cambage would be leaving the team, however he noted that "it won’t be made public until Tuesday at the earliest."

Cambage joined the Sparks during the off-season as a free agent after being seemingly unhappy in Las Vegas. She had indicated her departure was imminent, saying WNBA player pay and treatment was subpar — comments that came in the wake of the Aces announcing they would pay Becky Hammon $1 million for her role as head coach.

The Sparks are 12-15 this season and have won five of their last nine games, but have already fired head coach and general manager Derek Fisher earlier in the season, and Cambage has played in all but two games for the Sparks.

In her time in the WNBA, Cambage has played for the Tulsa Shock, who relocated to Arlington and became the Dallas Wings — where Cambage played in 2018 — as well as the Aces and Los Angeles Sparks. The three-time All-Star has averaged 15.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in 167 career WNBA games, shooting 53.9 per cent from the field in her career.

During the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games, Cambage was not part of the Australian women's basketball team, the Opals, citing mental health reasons following alleged incidents during training camp.

With the Opals there was allegedly also an altercation with the Nigerian women's national team during a scrimmage, which led to an investigation by Basketball Australia and Cambage was issued a formal reprimand, though Cambage has made it clear she does not intend to play for the green and gold again.