WNBA DRAFT

April 15, 2024

Cameron Brink

Los Angeles Sparks

Q. When you saw the Draft order kind of work its way out and saw LA at No. 2, how much did that feel like a fit for you, not just basketball-wise but also with all the things you bring off the court, as well?

CAMERON BRINK: I love that I get to stay on the West Coast, and I love that they took a chance on me, and I feel like I'm just going to show that I can work really hard and help them a lot.

But also, I'll be close to family, which is really important for me.

Q. Obviously it's very, very early in your WNBA career, but when it's all said and done, what sort of legacy do you hope to leave on the court?

CAMERON BRINK: That's a good question. I would say I just want to continue the legacy of growing the sport, and I feel like I've said this a lot today, but we really have to look back at the women before us, and I know people keep saying this is a historic draft class but there were many, many talented draft classes before us.

I just want to give my props to the Dawn Staleys, Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslies because they are why I'm here, because I watched them growing up. I just hope that I can continue that legacy for younger girls.

Q. Building off of that, you obviously mentioned the people you watched. What do you remember about the WNBA growing up, and how do you think its perception in the popular culture has changed?

CAMERON BRINK: So growing up, I said this earlier before, as well, but growing up, I was kind of first introduced to the league because my mom was a product line manager at Nike and worked on Dawn Staley's signature shoe and worked with Tamika Catchings and Jen Rizzotti, who I've played 3-on-3 basketball for.

Growing up I had so much admiration for these women. It was really upsetting to not see that reciprocated by the public, what you see on social media, and I always do think the negative stands out more than the positive unfortunately, but it was really upsetting for me, and there were a lot of times where I was just kind of dumbfounded by the negativity.

But I think now there's a positive switch, and hopefully we can just keep that momentum going.

Q. What did you study at Stanford? Also, you went to high school in Beaverton, Oregon, which is the home of a certain well-known sports apparel company but yet you signed with New Balance. I was curious how that happened.

CAMERON BRINK: Yeah, so I studied communications at Stanford, and my parents both worked for Nike for 20-plus years, grew up in Beaverton. That's where the world headquarters are, so I'm definitely a Nike kid born and raised.

But New Balance came to me with -- I see you're wearing New Balances, by the way. I love it.

But I'm just so thankful for them because they have signed me as their first female basketball player, and they are just a phenomenal brand through and through, what they stand for, how they support their athletes. I truly cannot be more excited, and I converted for sure.

Q. You were pretty emotional up there, and I'm wondering, are your emotions, were you worried about where you might go, or is it part of being a part of this huge moment for women's basketball? And who's hit you up on your phone since you've been drafted? Has a certain godbrother?

CAMERON BRINK: Yes, to answer your first question, I think in these situations it's a business now, and you never know. I had great conversations with the Sparks and Raegan Pebley and Curt, and they're amazing, but you just never know, and I didn't want to assume anything.

It's just such a high-stress environment, as well, so when they called my name, just a huge wave of emotions hit me. When I saw my mom tearing up and my dad, that definitely hit home. Just was super thankful.

Actually, I actually FaceTimed Steph like five minutes before the show started. He just said to just have fun with it. I think he can just share so much great advice because obviously he's been through this, and he just said to make stuff like this fun because it can be stressful. So to make it fun. He answered my mom's FaceTime call. I called Seth Curry, as well. He hung up immediately because that's Seth. But then he called back right after.

Yeah, they're both just great sounding boards for me.

Q. You've played a ton of international basketball over the years. Do you have any memorable matchups against Australians?

CAMERON BRINK: I do, and I played with some great Australians, as well. Agnes Emma-Nnopu is a great friend of mine. Now she's at TCU.

But I specifically remember playing against Australia I think U-16 or U-17 it was, and honestly they're some of the strongest people I've ever played against. When they hit you with a screen, it takes you a while to recover. And Lauren Jackson is one of my favorite players ever. I just really admire her.