Sparks’ Cameron Brink excited to flex her versatility in Paris 

Brink, alongside teammates Cierra Burdick, Rhyne Howard, and Hailey Van Lith, will travel to Paris for the 2024 Olympics. All four players attended the 2024 USA Basketball 3×3 Women’s National Team training camp from April 17-20, only two days after Brink was selected as the second overall pick in the WNBA Draft. She began training camp with the Sparks just eight days later. 

Brink told reporters, “[The Olympics have] always been a huge goal of mine. I don’t know if I would have thought I’d achieve it this young. … I’ve worked really hard for it. There’ve been a lot of really hard nights, long days, traveling to crazy places, remote places, to be able to qualify for this, and right after the draft I was exhausted mentally, physically and went straight to Olympic trials. It was a sacrifice that was worth making, and I’m glad it paid off.” 

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A video of Brink receiving her jersey earlier this week was shared widely on social media, with Brink getting emotional as she held up the USA jersey. “It’s all been really sudden. I had no idea I would make the team. Of course, I was aiming for it, but it was definitely a huge surprise,” she said. 

Brink joins a long legacy of Stanford athletes at the Olympics. In the delayed 2020 Olympics in 2021, Stanford tied USC for the most gold medals, with ten. In 2016, Stanford athletes brought home a school record 27 total medals, adding to the school’s grand total of 296 medals from 177 total athletes. Cameron cited Kerry Walsh Jennings as one of her inspirations, noting her love of volleyball. “To be able to add to that culture is huge to me,” she said regarding Stanford’s “huge Olympian list.”

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Regarding the pace of 3×3 and the adjustment she’ll need to make during the WNBA’s Olympic break, Brink said, “It’s a game where you need to make tough decisions when you’re really fatigued. It’s really fast-paced, and you don’t have any time to dwell on your mistakes. For a player like me, I am allowed to be more versatile and kind of do a little bit of everything.” 

“The Sparks are thrilled for Cameron! For any player to wear their country’s uniform is a dream come true and representative of so much work and determination,” General Manager Raegan Pebley stated in a press release issued by the Sparks. “Her dedication and performance have set a high standard, and I am confident that Cameron and her USA 3×3 teammates will excel. Cameron’s journey has just begun, and we are excited to see what the future holds for such a talented individual.”

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Brink is hopeful that the pace and expectation that each player must guard every position will translate over into the second half of the WNBA season, noting the need for versatility and playing when exhausted. She’s hopeful she’ll be able to contribute given the length she adds, her versatility, and her talent on both sides of a screen, a skill that becomes even more important when playmaking in the half-court. 

“There’s still a lot of work to be done,” said Brink. “We want to win gold.”