WNBA's Brink suffers ACL injury ahead of Olympics

[June 20, 2024]  (Reuters) - Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink, who was named in Team USA's 3x3 basketball team for this year's Paris Olympics, has suffered a serious knee injury, the WNBA team said on Wednesday.
 
The 22-year-old Brink, who the Sparks selected with the second pick of the WNBA Draft in April, tore ligaments during her team's game on Tuesday in Connecticut. 

May 24, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink (22) blocks a shot by Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston (7) in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo

"You never think it will happen to you. And despite all the hard work sometimes it does," Brink wrote in a social media post. "This is hard to fathom but I know it will only make me stronger.

"I will not be derailed and I will continue to love this life - I'm not defined by basketball, but it is something that I love deeply and I will work everyday to get back to it."

Brink, who won a gold medal for Team USA at the 2023 FIBA 3x3 World Cup in Vienna, averaged 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds in 15 games for a Sparks team sitting near the bottom of the standings with a 4-11 record.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Ed Osmond)

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