The Los Angeles Sparks believed they drafted a foundational player when they selected Cameron Brink with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. After four stellar seasons at Stanford, Brink developed into one of the WNBA's top prospects. During her time at Stanford she received numerous honors, and now she can add another one. Cameron Brink was named to Team USA for 3×3 competition at the Paris Olympics, an honor that she wasn't even sure she would get.
“It's all been really sudden, I had no idea I'd make the team. Of course I was aiming for it but it's definitely a huge surprise,” Brink said during a media availability session on Thursday. “It's always the biggest honor in my opinion to represent your country, especially the Olympics. It's a just a huge honor and I'm really excited to play with Hailey [Van Lith], Rhyne [Howard] and Cierra [Burdick], they're some great people and I'm just really excited to get to Paris.”
Joining Cameron Brink for the Team USA 3×3 team at the Olympics will be Atlanta Dream star Rhyne Howard, current TCU guard and WNBA prospect Hailey Van Lith and former WNBA player Cierra Burdick. Brink participated in 3×3 events while at training camp earlier this year alongside current Sparks teammate Dearica Hamby.
Team USA women's basketball won the inaugural 3×3 competition at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with a team that featured the Las Vegas Aces' Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young, the Washington Mystics' Stefanie Dolson and the Atlanta Dream's Allisha Gray. Brink acknowledged that the 3×3 game is very different from traditional 5×5 basketball.
“It's very different, I would say it's way more exhausting than five-on-five. It's a game where you need to be able to make tough decisions when you're really fatigued,” Brink said. “It's really fast-paced, you don't have time to dwell on your mistakes. For a player like me, I'm allowed to be more versatile and do a little bit of everything.”
Cameron Brink's rookie season with Sparks a work in progress
During her rookie season with the Sparks, Cameron Brink has shown some of that versatility. She's shown the ability to play around the basket, but step out and shoot from three-point range as well. She's been a versatile defensive player able to play switches as well as protect the paint with her shot blocking.
Through the Sparks first nine games, Brink has been a starter at a little over 23 minutes per game. She's been averaging 8.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.6 blocked shots with splits of 44.8 percent shooting from the field, 35 percent shooting from the three-point line and 81.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
One area of concern though for Brink this season has been her foul trouble. She's averaging 4.4 fouls per game and has had trouble staying on the court. She averaged around 2.7 fouls throughout her four seasons at Stanford. Adjusting to the WNBA's level of physicality as well as how the officials call the game are the next major areas of improvement for Brink's game.
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