The worst possible outcome on the injury to Los Angeles Sparks rookie Cameron Brink was confirmed Wednesday as the team revealed she tore her ACL. Many around the basketball world offered words of support for the forward, include fellow rookie and No. 1 overall pick Caitlin Clark.
The Indiana Fever star spoke on the matter in a press conference prior to her team’s matchup against the Washington Mystics. She offered sympathy for Brink as well as words of encouragement, saying she knows she will bounce back.
“Obviously, devastating,” Clark said. “You don’t want to see anybody deal with any sort of injury, obviously an injury of that magnitude. I know she’s the type of person that’ll be able to get through it and come out through it stronger. But yeah, it just breaks your heart. She’s such a good basketball player, but an even better person.”
Clark and Brink won a gold medal together as members of Team USA U19 in the 2019 FIBA World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand. That is when they both got to know each other on a personal level as they were roommates on the road.
The pair’s relationship only grew from there as both were stars on the centerstage of women’s college basketball over the past couple of seasons. They then went through the recent draft process together and were part of one of the most hyped classes in WNBA history.
All that is to say, Clark has more of a personal connection to Brink than most.
“Knowing her and her being one of my friends and going through this process together from where we were [at] 17 years old,” she said. “We were roommates on the road in Thailand, and then getting to share draft weekend together or award shows our junior year of college. She was obviously having a great start to her rookie season, and then seeing something so devastating as this.
“I know she’ll come back stronger and I know so many people are thinking of her and praying for her. I’m sure she’s overwhelmed by the support right now and she definitely deserves it. Knowing the type of person she is, this will only make her better in the long run.”
Brink was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She had so far been off to a solid start to her rookie campaign with averages of 8.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. The 6-foot-4 forward was also set to compete for Team USA in the 3-on-3 portion of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
Now Cameron Brink will focus on her injury recovery and look to make it back and live up to the potential that she so clearly displayed early on.
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