Cameron Brink suffers injury and was helped to the locker room against Sun

Los Angeles Sparks rookie center Cameron Brink suffered a knee injury at the start of the first quarter in the team’s game against the Connecticut Sun and will not come back to the game according to team public relations.

Brink collided under the basket with Sun center Brionna Jones and fell to the court. She was able to get up but limped to the bench and had to be carried off the court and to the locker room.

The Sparks are currently in the middle of a long road trip in which they have lost games to the Seattle Storm, Minnesota Lynx, and Atlanta Dream. At press time, the Sparks were behind the Sun by double digits. They still have three games left to play on this road trip after Tuesday. They will play the New York Liberty twice, then travel to play the Phoenix Mercury before returning home next month.

Cameron Brink only played four minutes for the Sparks before suffering a knee injury. She was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft after playing four seasons at Stanford. Although it has been difficult to come by wins this season, Brink has been one of the team’s bright spots.

Cameron Brink set to compete in Olympic 3×3 competition

Although Cameron Brink’s situation will surely be clarified in the coming days, the extent of the injury could compromise his participation in the Paris Olympics next month. Brink was selected to Team USA for the 3×3 competition alongside Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard, TCU guard Hailey Van Lith and former WNBA player Cierra Burdick.

The 2020 Olympics was the inaugural year of the 3×3 competition and Team USA women’s basketball is the reigning gold medalist. The 2020 team consisted of Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young of the Las Vegas Aces, Stefanie Dolson of the Washington Mystics and Atlanta Dream goalie Allisha Gray.

If Brink is forced to miss extended time, it will be a huge blow for the Sparks. The team is mired in a rebuild, with Brink one of the franchise cornerstones of the future. Brink started all 14 games she played this season with just over 23 minutes per game.

She averaged 8.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.4 blocked shots with splits of 39.8 percent shooting from the field, 32.3 for percent shooting from the three-point line and 84 percent shooting from the free throw line. Brink also averages 4.2 fouls per game. Staying on the court and avoiding foul trouble has been one of the areas of improvement needed for Brink.