LOS ANGELES — The Liz Cambage era began Wednesday in L.A. on the doorstep of Crypto.com Arena, where, on a crisp February afternoon, the 6-foot-8 Australian basketballer strode to the dais for her introductory news conference wearing a knee-length black leather jacket that indicated she means business.

And a smile indicating she means to have a good time.

Cambage sat beside Derek Fisher, the Sparks’ head coach and general manager, and together they answered questions for nearly an hour, telling a crowd of about 45 media members and others affiliated with the team – plus the 40 other reporters listening in over Zoom – that she felt she’s finally home, and that there’s no place like it.

“When I was 19, I said I wanted to be in L.A.,” said Cambage, a four-time All-Star who grew up half a world away watching highlights of Lakers greats Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.

She remembers catching flack for expressing her desire to play in L.A. out loud when she was drafted No. 2 overall by the Tulsa Shock.

“I got drafted to the WNBA when I was 19 – please don’t do that math! It was a couple of years ago (in 2011),” said Cambage, laughing, as she did often Wednesday. “I had no media training. Still don’t – if you haven’t realized. Still say whatever I want.”

Seriously, though: “Even though it’s taken 11 years,” she said, “I’m so grateful. It’s been a journey and I’m so excited that I’m finally here.”

Liz is here. pic.twitter.com/ewXVXy2yCQ

— Mirjam Swanson (@MirjamSwanson) February 23, 2022

After stops in Tulsa and Dallas sandwiched around a five-year WNBA hiatus, and, for the past two seasons, Las Vegas, Cambage arrives in L.A. as the marquee free-agent signing for a Sparks organization that fast-forwarded its aspirations for a fourth championship with a flurry of aggressive offseason moves.

Last winter, they lost Candace Parker and Chelsea Gray in free agency; Gray to Las Vegas, where she played with Cambage, and Parker to the allure of home and Chicago, where she helped the Sky win last season’s WNBA title.

Without those stalwarts – and because injuries limited several of their remaining contributors – the Sparks finished 12-20 and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

Entering free agency, it appeared they would have to bide their time until 2023 – when all but two of their players would be free agents – before they’d be able to significantly overhaul their roster. Six of their nine rostered players were on guaranteed deals and, accounting for salary cap holds, they had just a maximum of $97,000 to offer free agents – barring trades.

But Fisher worked out deals with Seattle and Atlanta that respectively brought in former Mater Dei High star Katie Lou Samuelson, a sharpshooting wing, and rising star Chennedy Carter, a dynamic guard. And he came to terms with L.A. native Jordin Canada, already a two-time WNBA champion in four seasons with Seattle.

And then, the Sparks landed Cambage.

She signed for $170,000 – below the maximum available, so that she would help ease the Sparks’ salary cap burden so that they’ll be able to carry 12 players this season, among them Amanda Zahui B., and Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike, new teammates with whom Cambage already has friendships.

“Her sacrifice financially, in the conversations that we had, she wasn’t interested in being the only person that could help the team,” Fisher said. “She wanted to make sure we had the opportunity to continue to get better and that was an important part of the conversations we had.”

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Besides her star power (Cambage, the two-time Olympian, has more than 955,000 followers on Instagram and last year was featured on LeBron James’ “The Shop” on HBO, among other high-profile appearances), the Sparks expect to benefit from her offensive chops and her rebounding. In five WNBA seasons, she has averaged 16.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.6 blocked shots per game while shooting 54.4% from the field.

“The problem for us, honestly, we’ve been great defensively the past few seasons, but we haven’t finished enough possessions with rebounds,” Fisher said. “And offensively, we just haven’t been an efficient team offensively. Liz changes that instantly.”

And what might Cambage – who estimated she stands “6-10 in these adidas shoes; I’m telling you guys, if you’re trying to get some inches on the court, get you some Dames” – contribute to the Sparks’ established defense?

She answered that question from longtime women’s basketball writer Howard Megdal with a question: “When you’re driving into the key and I got my hands up underneath the ring, Howard, what would you do?”

The answer to that is likely similar to how Cambage characterized her decision to sign with the Sparks: “A no-brainer.”