“You never think it will happen to you,” Cameron Brink wrote upon announcing her season-ending injury. It was only June, the WNBA season had just begun, but an ACL tear took the Los Angeles Sparks’ second overall pick out of her rookie year. After making that post on June 20 on Instagram, about 105 days later, on September 30, she had some good news to share. Brink was engaged! But a lot more happened in this span.

In an interview released by KGW News on that day, an interesting timeline emerged. Talking about how her injury had derailed the season but also allowed her to be ‘human’, Brink talks about travel plans. “I guess I’m just being patient with myself. And I guess the silver lining in all of this is being able to be a human for once. And doing normal people stuff,” Brink says.

“Now I’ve had more time to be on panels and talk about business. I’m going to Paris tonight, so time to travel, and see the world. Rehab is still at the forefront of all of this and the top priority but yeah it’s been really great to just take a step back from basketball and just be Cameron, I guess,” the Sparks rookie continues.

That same night, news broke that Ben Felter, Cameron Brink’s longtime boyfriend, had popped the question in Paris. The W player also posted pictures of Felter going down on one knee with the Eiffel Tower in the distance. The black-and-white filter only added more depth to the story in motion. “Yes in every lifetime,” Brink wrote on Instagram. The proposal reportedly took place at the Shangri-La Paris Hotel after Brink attended the Balenciaga show for Paris Fashion Week. She had not known that Felter would even be coming to the City of Love, and her talk with KGW proves it!

While her injury break continues in the offseason, fans hope to see Brink back in gold and purple next season. While there has been no concrete update, Brink is looking forward to healing fully and making a stronger comeback.

“You can’t just take all the good parts of basketball”: Cameron Brink

Per some statistics by the National Library of Medicine, around 46.4% of injuries happening in America happen to professional athletes. Whatever sport you play, injuries (whether major or minor) will be part of life. And Cameron Brink has begun to understand it, although it wasn’t easy to deal with the ACL tear when it first happened.

“When I first got injured, it definitely felt like the world was crumbling,” the 22-year-old told KGW News. “But when you take a step back it’s really just a part of the game. You can’t just take all the good parts of basketball and expect the rest to go well too. It happens and you move on and it’s just about how you bounce back. That’s what life is about, dealing with the cards that are dealt to you.”

2024 has sure been a rollercoaster year for Brink. Graduating Stanford, getting drafted by the Sparks, beginning her rookie season on a high but being brought down by injury, and now a surprise engagement. Next year, when she comes back to play for the W, might we expect another year of ups and downs? Mostly ups, we shall hope!