WNBA star rookie Cameron Brink out of Olympics after tearing ACL

Los Angeles rookie Cameron Brink tore the ACL in her left knee, the Sparks announced Wednesday.

The Sparks said they will provide another update in the near future, but injuries like this often end a player’s season.

The 6-foot-4 forward had to be helped off the field after suffering the injury in the first quarter of the Sparks’ 79-70 loss to Connecticut on Tuesday night. Brink played less than four minutes and committed one foul before getting injured.

Once on the sidelines, the No. 2 of this year’s squad limped towards the locker room, but had to stop due to pain. A few Sparks employees picked Brink up and carried her to the locker room.

The 22-year-old Brink came into the game averaging 8.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in her first season for Los Angeles (4-11). She is tied with A’ja Wilson for the second-most blocks in the WNBA, and has become a popular figure on and off the court during her short professional career.

“Other than the 2019 season, every year I’ve been a head coach in this league, I’ve lost a starter to injury,” Spark coach Curt Miller said. “You just have to have the mentality of the next person and rally around it.”

Brink is on the US 3×3 team for the Paris Olympics this summer and Team USA will now have to find a replacement.

The Sparks leave for New York on Thursday and Saturday to play two games against the Liberty.