LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles rookie Cameron Brink tore the ACL in her left knee, the Sparks announced Wednesday.
The rookie forward had to be helped off the court after suffering the injury in the first quarter of the Sparks' 79-70 loss to Connecticut on Tuesday night. Brink played under four minutes and committed one foul before getting hurt.
Once over to the sideline, the No. 2 pick in the draft hobbled toward the locker room, but was forced to stop as a result of the pain. A pair of Sparks personnel lifted Brink off her feet and carried her to the locker room.
"You never think it will happen to you. And despite all the hard work sometimes it does," she said on social media Wednesday. "This is hard to fathom but I know it will only make me stronger. I will not be derailed."
The 22-year-old Brink said she will work hard in her recovery everyday to get back to playing basketball, adding "It’s not goodbye basketball, it’s just a see you later."
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's tied with A'ja Wilson for the second-most blocks in the WNBA.
"Except for the 2019 season I've lost a starter to injury every single year I've been a head coach in this league," Curt Miller said. "You just have to have the mentality of next person up and rally around it."
Brink is on the U.S. 3x3 team for the Paris Olympics and a replacement will have to be named for her.
The Sparks head to New York to play two games against the Liberty on Thursday and Saturday.
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