Remember Gabby Williams? The 28-year-old baller who represented France in the Olympics and swept the silver medal and the Defensive Player honor? Well, Williams was born in Nevada on September 9, 1996, to Matthew and Thérèse. While her father is American, her mother is French, which has helped Williams take advantage of her lineage. The level of talent in the WNBA is such that while Williams was finding it difficult to make it to the Team USA, she easily made the best use of her roots and started plying her trade for the French national team.

Hence, it is natural that the talent drain for the WNBA stars is a real phenomenon. And one such talent is the Chicago Sky star Chennedy Carter, who, if reports are to be believed, could leave her nation and instead represent another South American team much like another Chicago Sky teammate.

Carter, according to Beta Basket founder Roberta Rodrigues, is wanted by the Brazilian national team.  The Sky veteran could join one of the former Chicago Sky head coach – Pokey Chatman – who has been hired as a technical consultant for the team. As per the same tweet on Thursday by Rodrigues “Carter was denied by USA Basketball.”

The possibility of Carter joining the Brazilian team increases with the fact that the 25-year-old hasn’t represented Team USA internationally in FIBA events. Though she did participate in the FIBA Americas U-18 Championship and FIBA U-17 World Cup, it wasn’t for the adult team. Plus, at those levels, she bagged a gold medal in 2016 and concluded her journey for the other competition with a silver in 2017 respectively. Additionally, she has also pursued her trade for the Pan American Games in 2019 but it wasn’t for the FIBA event. Therefore, she could join Brazil and help them amp up their game. If she does so, she will be in good company with her Sky teammate.

Kamilla Cardoso, drafted as the third overall pick by the Sky this season, was born in Montes Claros, Brazil. When she was 15, Cardoso left her home and moved to the USA to look for better basketball opportunities. It is said that an agent convinced Cardoso to move to the USA instead of Portugal to have the best utilization of her talent. And as they say, the rest is history. The Chicago Sky’s #10 has forged a successful career for herself. She recently won the NCAA Championship for her mentor Dawn Staley and then was drafted in the WNBA. However, if Carter takes up Brazilian nationality, then she would be a part of a squad comprising stalwarts.

What’s the future for the Brazilian National Team?

Though the Brazil women’s basketball team had won silver before and bagged a bronze at the Olympics during the 1996 and 2000 editions, respectively, good performances have come in rarity. The situation has worsened so much as of now that Brazil even failed to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2024 Paris Olympics. Even in the FIBA World Championships, Brazil could not qualify for the duels in Spain and Australia in 2018 and 2022. Hence, the team desperately wants to make a comeback, and what better way than making a new squad?

If Carter joins the Brazil team, then she will be in the good company of Cardoso, Damiris Dantas, and Fairfield guard Iza Nicoletti Leiti. While the Texas A&M alum was the main offensive star for the Sky this season, Cardoso is known for her defensive prowess as well. Therefore, the two will perfectly blend in a squad that has Dantas, who is known for being the fourth/fifth player and can step up to take the onus when the situation demands with her decent shooting skills. Not to mention her height gives her the advantage to dominate the paint. To top that, Leiti adds the cherry on the cake as she can be the chief playmaker. Overall, a good squad to pin their chances of qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games.

Perhaps, the deal will be finalized soon in the best interest of all the parties involved. While Carter wasn’t selected for the Team USA Olympics squad this year, maybe she can prove her mettle by playing for Brazil and just like Williams giving a tough competition to Team USA at some stage.