WNBA Star Rookie Carried Off Court With Apparent Serious Injury

Cameron Brink, a first-round pick of the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2024 WNBA Draft, left the team’s Tuesday night game against the Connecticut Sun in the first quarter after suffering an apparent leg injury.

Brink was driving to the basket, took a bad step, and went down in immediate pain. She stood up and hobbled back to the bench before she had to be carried off the court by two Sparks coaches. Here’s a video of the play, via WNBA Rookie Watch on X:

Brink appeared to sustain the injury to her left leg, and her inability to walk off the court isn’t a great sign. However, the Sparks will run tests and hope for the best for their 22-year-old budding star.

Brink was selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft behind Iowa star Caitlin Clark. Brink spent four years at Stanford and racked up tons of honors across her storied college career.

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Brink steadily improved each year, culminating in a senior season in which she averaged 17.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 51.1 percent from the field. She was a two-time NCAA All-Region honoree, three-time All-Pac 12 honoree, three-time Pac-12 All-Defensive team honoree, three-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year winner, and the 2023-24 Pac-12 Player of the Year. She was also a part of the 2020-21 Stanford team that won the National Title in her freshman season.

Brink parlayed her impressive college career into being a top-two pick in the most recent draft and has enjoyed a solid start to her professional career. Entering Tuesday night’s game, Brink was averaging 8.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game across 14 contests.

Brink has had five games with double-digit scoring outputs, including her most recent game on June 16, when she scored 16 points while grabbing seven rebounds. Her career-high thus far is 21 points, while she has secured one double-double on June 7 with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Hopefully, this isn’t a serious injury for Brink, whose Sparks are 4-10 to open the 2024 season. Moreover, Brink was selected to play for Team USA in the upcoming Summer Olympics in the 3-on-3 basketball tournament. The Olympics kick off at the end of July, so Brink would have a little over a month to heal in time to represent her country at the Paris Games. Hopefully, Brink, the Sparks, and Team USA get good news regarding the apparent leg injury.