Alexa Philippou
Cameron Brink, the No. 2 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, is set to make her season debut for the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday night against the Las Vegas Aces, 13 months after tearing her left ACL.
Brink and Sparks coach Lynne Roberts told reporters the news Monday at practice, as Los Angeles heads into Tuesday’s contest on a league-best five-game win streak.
Roberts said Brink will probably be on a minutes restriction.
“It means the world,” Brink told the Long Beach Press Telegram about her return. “I’m just very excited, very humbled by this experience. It’s no easy thing to come back from. Just really excited.”
The 2021 national champion at Stanford told media this past weekend in New York that she had been cleared to return and was working to get game-ready.
“It’s great to get in and get reps,” Brink said of being incorporated back into practice. “My teammates are super supportive, coaching me up. My coaches are super patient. I’m feeling great, just getting the reps that I need to feel comfortable.”
Brink, a 6-foot-4 forward, was averaging 7.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game before going down with the injury on June 18, 2024, 15 games into her rookie campaign. She revealed earlier this year on “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” that she also tore her meniscus on the play.
In addition to being sidelined for the remainder of that WNBA season, she had to miss the 2024 Paris Olympics after having been named to the USA 3×3 basketball team.
“I’m not a very patient person if you know me,” Brink told the Press Telegram. “This whole process has taught me a lot.”
The Sparks stumbled to a 8-32 finish last season and hired Roberts as their new head coach in November. They are 10th in the standings this season, but after their current win streak are one game back from a playoff spot.
Los Angeles will have its full roster of 11 available for the first time all season and hope that as Brink, an elite rim protector and inside presence, gets more comfortable on the floor, she can help elevate the defense, which ranks 11th in the league.
“Just a great attitude, great energy,” Brink said on what she hopes to bring. “I always say my energy is my currency. Just being a really great teammate. I think we’ve been winning because we’re having a lot of fun. So just bringing that every day.”
Added Roberts: “She’s been tremendous. It’s hard. The offseason is one thing, but when your teammates are out there and you’re over there doing leg curls, it’s hard. And she’s been a tremendous teammate. I’m really, really proud of her.”
