LOS ANGELES — Liz Cambage strutted through the Sparks practice facility as if it were her own home. There was a grin on her face. Her arms swayed back and forth with each step.

After a recent practice there, Cambage, the team’s new star center, lounged in a black folding chair in a back corner of the basketball court, waving at teammates who passed by on their way out. One teammate offered to cook her a meal sometime soon, an invitation Cambage happily accepted.