Sparks’ Cameron Brink suffers season-ending torn ACL – Daily News

Sparks ahead Cameron Brink will miss the remainder of her WNBA rookie season and the Paris Olympics after struggling a torn ACL in her left knee throughout Tuesday’s recreation towards the Connecticut Solar.

Drafted No. 2 total in April’s WNBA draft out of Stanford, the 6-foot-4 Brink was driving to the basket towards the Solar when her left knee gave away. Brink limped off the courtroom earlier than being carried to the locker room.

“You by no means suppose it is going to occur to you,” Brink wrote in a press release on Instagram centered round the concept that what’s delayed shouldn’t be denied. “And regardless of all of the onerous work typically it does. That is onerous to fathom however I do know it is going to solely make me stronger. I cannot be derailed and I’ll proceed to like this life- I’m not outlined by basketball, however it’s one thing that I like deeply and I’ll work on a regular basis to get again to it. It’s not goodbye basketball it’s simply so long. I’m at all times so grateful to your ideas and prayers.”

The Sparks introduced the severity of Brink’s damage Wednesday. It’s a blow to a franchise seeking to rebuild its roster with a “core 4” philosophy that features a foundational expertise like Brink, a day-one starter and defensive stalwart.

“It’s a part of the WNBA sadly,” Sparks coach Curt Miller stated after Tuesday’s recreation. “My profession has been sprinkled with, the exception of the 2019 season, I’ve misplaced a starter to damage each single 12 months I’ve been a head coach on this league and also you simply need to have the mentality of subsequent particular person up and rally round it.”

Brink, 22, was averaging 7.5 factors in 22 minutes per recreation in 15 profession begins for the Sparks, whose 79-70 loss Tuesday evening dropped them to 4-11 total and tenth place within the 12-team league.

Her 2.3 blocked photographs per recreation rank third within the league whereas her 5.3 rebounds per recreation ranked second on the Sparks who’ve missed the playoffs the previous three seasons.

Brink was anticipated to be a key participant on the four-member U.S. ladies’s 3×3 staff, which will likely be defending its gold medal from the Tokyo Olympics when the Video games start subsequent month in France.

“Our ideas are with Cameron as we want her a speedy restoration,” USA Basketball stated in a press release. “On account of Cam’s damage, USA Basketball will start the method of choosing an athlete to hitch the 2024 USA 3×3 Ladies’s Nationwide Workforce. We hope to see Cam again on the courtroom and representing the crimson, white and blue quickly.”

The damage leaves the Sparks with 6-foot-7 Li Yueru because the staff’s solely energetic middle. The 25-year-old second-year participant from China is averaging 5.1 factors and three.8 rebounds whereas taking part in 12.8 minutes per recreation.

Coach Miller stated Yueru will seemingly have the chance to obtain further taking part in time with Brink sidelined.

“I’m an enormous unintended penalties particular person,” Miller continued. “Does an damage open the door for another person to actually begin to blossom and achieve confidence of their profession? You have a look at my time at Connecticut, it was littered by that, the place somebody went down, another person stepped up and actually then blossomed into the professional they’re right this moment … however unintended penalties of accidents are it’s going to open the door for somebody like Li for much more minutes if that occurs to be needed or the case.