• Michael Voepel
• Kevin Pelton

Jun 20, 2024, 05:06 AM

The biggest fears regarding Los Angeles Sparks rookie forward Cameron Brink‘s knee injury were confirmed by Wednesday she suffered a torn ACL on her knee in the left. She will be out for the remainder of 2024’s WNBA season as well as in the Paris Olympics.

It’s a devastating blow to Brink and the Sparks and the WNBA and USA Basketball, which must take her off the roster of 3×3 players. Brink suffered a calf injury in the first few minutes of the Sparks losing on Tuesday against the Connecticut Sun. The No. 2 selection during April’s WNBA draft The WNBA draft, she had an impressive career start with the Sparks playing in every game for the team in all 15 games.

Today, Los Angeles — which hasn’t been in the playoffs since the year 2020 and is undergoing what could be described as a “refresh” of the franchise with long-time star Nneka Ogwumike currently with Seattle Storm Seattle Storm -will have to make a move without Brink. Then, Brink must face the double disappointment of missing the opportunity to go to compete in the Olympics and being unable to finish her first season.

The New York Liberty faced a similar problem in 2020, when the No. 1 player Sabrina Ionsecu suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the middle of her first season. Ionescu was able to recover she returned in 2021 and was an All-Star and second team WNBA choice last season. She is a part of the U.S. 5-on-5 Olympic team this year.

The future looks positive for Brink however this doesn’t offer much comfort for Brink and the 4-11 Sparks at the moment. Here’s a look back at the way Brink has performed thus far, and where the Sparks are heading next this season, and what the future holds for Brink.

How has Brink been performing until this point in her debut season?

Pelton Likely, Brink was one of the top rookies of the WNBA and was rated as a league average player as of the moment she was signed. I’ve her ranked third among the four players in this year’s draft that are performing higher than replacement-level for at minimum 100 minutes of play:

Particularly, Brink has excelled defensively and has blocked a league-leading 9 percent of opponents’ 2-point shots. In the group of players who have blocked at least 40 shots within the paint, according to Second Spectrum monitoring, Brink ranks fifth with opponents hitting only 51% of these shots.

The foul trouble was a foreseeable issue for Brink who averaged 6.5 incidents per hour. However, the Sparks are confident about her performance prior to the injury.

Voepel Brink required just two professional games to prove she was on the way to becoming one of the top shooters of the WNBA. The first blocks she was able to block were with players like Margo Dydek, Lisa Leslie and Brittney Griner. From a timing as well as anticipation and coordination perspectives, Brink clearly has what she needs to be a player who can protect the rim. It’s not easy to lose for the Sparks to let go of in the present.

How will the Sparks adapt in her absence? How do the lineup changes? Which non-rostered player could Los Angeles sign?

Pelton A silver lining to the Sparks is that backup centre Li Yueru has been gaining steam lately, especially in her first WNBA action following playing only an 82-minute stint as a rookie for the Chicago Sky in 2022. Li was a career high with 18 points in Seattle in the month of March in the final game of the season, beating Brink with 11 points shooting 5-of-6 during the game, when Brink suffered an injury. For 36 minutes her scoring averages in the range of 14.2 scores and 10.6 rebounds are more that Brink (12.3 or 8.7) However, Li isn’t anywhere near the same level of protection on the rim that Brink is as an effective shot blocker.

On the other hand, Los Angeles could get Azura Stevens back into the lineup in no time. In the event that Stevens first suffered an injury to her left arm while playing in China and was treated with surgery following surgery, the Sparks said they would be reviewing her within 12 weeks. The time for that will be Friday. Stevens could play center with Dearica Hamby or a power forward following to Li.

If Stevens remains likely to miss at least an additional three weeks of training, Los Angeles would be qualified for a hardship exemption to add a 13th member to the roster. Queen Egbo who was recently released by Connecticut could be an obvious target. Also, the Sparks could return Hungarian centre Virag Kiss who was on the team at training camp.

Voepel Making roster decisions is a challenge and it sparked some concerns when the Sparks were forced to release Monique Billings before the start of the season. The 6-foot-4 Billings was a six-time member of the Atlanta Dream. years with the Atlanta Dream, is a veteran post player that is difficult to locate. It was fortunate to that team, the Dallas Wings, which hired Billings within four days of the time that they let the Sparks released her. Billings is currently averaging career-highs that of 11.9 per game and 8.8 rebounds on behalf of the Wings.

It’s a matter of water underneath the bridge, for Sparks. It’s not too late to be writing off the postseason, but things just got more difficult in Los Angeles. As Kevin mentioned, Li is promising -she’s only 25 and was just playing an impressive 26 minutes in the season opener on Tuesday. Also, Stevens is likely to make an impact when she comes back.

The focus right currently will be to player Rickea Jackson who is the Sparks Other 2024 draft lottery selection this season. The No. 4 pick, she’s scoring 10.3 per game and 3.6 rebound. Jackson’s best performance thus to date was a 19-point 10-rebound effort against. The Minnesota Lynx on the 14th of June. Jackson has scored double scores during four of her five games, and has shot 56.1 percent from the field during the period. She’s an accomplished scorer and can also be an effective defensive player in the Sparks.

What changes does USA Basketball make to its 3×3 roster?

Pelton In accordance with FIBA’s 3×3 regulations, USA Basketball must replace Brink by a different player with enough to qualify for 3×3 competitions. That means the USA isn’t able to simply pick Aliyah Boston after she was cut off the Olympic team for the traditional 5 on 5 team.

Furthermore, USA Basketball will probably need to fill Brink’s place with a different post in order to compliment the guard Hailey Van Lith, wing Rhyne Howard and another Post Cierra Burdick. When looking through the FIBA individual rankings, the logical replacement would be Hamby who automatically qualifies as one of the 20 best U.S. players in 3×3 points.

Hamby is enjoying an All-Star year in the WNBA she was one of the selections made from ESPN’s Alexa Philppou to be on the team which will play the US’s 5-on-5 Olympic team at the WNBA All-Star Game andshe has more experience in 3×3 than other players in the same league.

In the event that USA Basketball is less concerned about the size of Brink’s replacement, Howard’s Atlanta Dream teammate Allisha Gray is another viable possibility after helping the USA win their first 3×3 gold medal in 2021 in Tokyo. The USA could return Katie Lou Samuelson from the Indiana Fever, who was scheduled to join the squad three years before before suffering from COVID-19 and then being unable to play..

Voepel I agree with Kevin: Hamby, Samuelson or Gray are the most suitable candidates to replace Brink who has spent many hours with 3×3. It’s sad that she won’t be able to compete in the Olympics which is something Samuelson knows all too well.

The previous year, Brink was MVP of the FIBA 3×3 Women’s World Cup in Vienna, Austria, as the United States won gold. She also participated in two Women’s 3×3 FIBA World Series events in which the Americans came third in Montreal as well as Quebec.

The 3×3 event was popular with U.S. viewers in 2021 the year that Gray, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young and Stefanie Dolson took home gold. Young And Plum are currently on the team of 5-on-5 players for Paris that could be in the future for Brink.

What does Brink’s future with the Sparks and USA Basketball look like?

Voepel While ACL injury and rehabilitation are an issue, there are many who have overcome to enjoy a stellar career. Brink is expected to heal and return in 2025 for the WNBA season. Brink could also be a part of the 3-x3 or 5-on-5 team at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Pelton Brink continues to be a element of the Sparks as well as Jackson and whomever Los Angeles drafts next year most likely through the lottery. It is hoped that this injury that occurs quite late in the year, allowing Brink to be back on the court by the 2025 training camp. Take into consideration that just a month ago (June 20), Connecticut center Brionna Jones had a similar season-ending injury, a Achilles rupture. In the present, Jones has played in all 14 games at the All-Star level and helped propel the Sun to their most successful start in franchise history.