The second total choose of the 2024 WNBA draft is about to make her return after an injury-shortened rookie marketing campaign.
Cameron Brink tore her ACL simply 15 video games into her profession, a brutal damage that required her to overlook the remainder of the 12 months and a few of 2025.
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It has been over a 12 months.
Nevertheless, on Tuesday night time, she makes her long-anticipated return for the Los Angeles Sparks at house in opposition to A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces.
Over the course of her first 15 profession video games, Brink averaged 7.5 factors, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.7 assists. She was simply getting began.
“It’s no straightforward factor to return again from … I’m simply very excited, very humbled by this expertise,” Brink mentioned at Monday afternoon’s observe.
Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts might be cognizant of how a lot she performs Brink, noting she might be on a minute restriction.
“It is nice,” Roberts mentioned. “To not put an excessive amount of stress on Cam’s affect proper now … [but] simply be within the second and never fear an excessive amount of about lacking a layup … play with gratitude.
“July twenty ninth, we’ll have all 11 gamers wholesome. Typically the toughest occasions in life are the most important classes … [Brink] might be a greater participant due to this.”
She is going to hope to be an excellent higher participant as she sat out for over a 12 months watching her group and others round her take the court docket.
Brink advised ESPN’s Alexa Philippou that she reached out to Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray and Olympic gold medal skier Lindsey Vonn, as each elite athletes additionally tore their ACLs.
There’s additionally a superb likelihood she reached out to a different man who has been in her nook her complete life and occurs to be the best shooter of all-time and four-time NBA champion.
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Brink has a direct line to Stephen Curry.
Brink and Curry have a particularly fascinating relationship, as they’re godsiblings to 1 one other. Brink’s godparents are Curry’s, and vice versa.
Brink and Curry are in fixed contact with each other, with Curry appearing because the older sibling, as she offers Brink recommendation on methods to deal with life as knowledgeable athlete.
“My favourite recommendation from him earlier than I obtained drafted, ‘simply get pleasure from each second.’ Particularly the moments the place you sort of should be there,” Brink mentioned earlier this 12 months on the Richer Lives by SoFi podcast.
“It’s important to be there for pre-draft introductions, you need to be there for sure league necessities so why not deliver levity and pleasure to each area.”
Hopefully Brink was capable of finding levity and pleasure in the course of the grueling days and months of her rehab. There isn’t any doubt that Curry constantly checked in along with her all through that whole course of.
The Sparks are at the moment using a league-best five-game win streak, however are simply 11-14 total, good for tenth place. Brink’s return will present a a lot wanted increase to the lineup.
In the meantime, the Aces are .500 at 13-13, only one.5 video games above the Sparks. In different phrases, Tuesday night time’s recreation at Crypto.com Enviornment is an enormous tilt.