USA Basketball Announces Surprise Replacement For Injured Cameron Brink In Summer Olympics

Cameron Brink of Los Angeles Sparks looking on.Cameron Brink (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
USA Basketball didn’t wait long to announce a replacement for Cameron Brink on their 3×3 team in the upcoming Summer Olympics.

Cameron Brink unfortunately suffered a season-ending ACL tear in the Los Angeles Sparks’ 79-70 road loss to the Connecticut Sun last Tuesday. The devastating injury came just weeks after she was named to the 3×3 basketball team.

On Monday, USA Basketball announced that Brink’s Sparks teammate, Dearica Hamby, will take her place on the Olympic team. Hamby will join forces with TCU star Hailey Van Lith, former WNBA standout Cierra Burdick and Atlanta Dream All-Star guard Rhyne Howard.

USA Basketball 3×3 team director and selection committee member Jay Demings offered the following statement on the decision to choose Hamby:

“It is an honor to announce Dearica Hamby’s addition to the USA 3×3 Women’s National Team and we look forward to getting to work as a squad very soon. USA Basketball continues to keep Cameron Brink in our thoughts as she focuses on her recovery.”

In her first season with the Sparks, Cameron Brink appeared in 15 games and averaged 7.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. She shot 32.3 percent from beyond the arc and made 84 percent of her free throws.

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The 30-year-old Dearica Hamby is having a superb season with the Sparks, averaging 17.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 rebounds per game while shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc.

The eight countries competing in the 3×3 women’s basketball tournament at the Summer Olympics are USA, Canada, China, France, Germany, Australia, Azerbaijan and Australia.

Cameron Brink & Sparks Have A Promising Future Together

It’s devastating that the 2024 WNBA Draft’s No. 2 pick had her rookie year end abruptly, but Cameron Brink and the Los Angeles Sparks have plenty to remain optimistic about long-term.

Brink was putting together a stellar rookie year before her season-ending injury, and she’ll only get better in the pros with more experience. Rickea Jackson, the No. 4 pick of this year’s draft, has also shown signs of emerging as an All-Star in this league.