The latest WNBA game between the Indiana Fever and Los Angeles Sparks will go down as one of the most bittersweet endings in the 2024 season. While fan favorite Caitlin Clark registered her first WNBA victory, unfortunately, it came against America’s loved athlete Cameron Brink. Though Brink tried her best she couldn’t lift the team and despite her 15-point effort, the head coach Curt Miller thinks the 22-year-old could have been better.

Miller was present in the post-match press conference on Saturday and amid a flurry of questions on the performances of his two rookies Brink and Rickea Jackson. Miller’s reply had some dissatisfaction attached to it.

Curt Miller points to Cameron Brink’s lack of “dominance”

A reflective Miller both applauded Brink and Jackson but also pointed out their mistakes and his expectations from them. His statements proved that despite being a star, everyone is a work in progress.

“I thought you know there were splashes for both of them that you know had really, really good nights. Um, um, they both had three fouls you know so a little bit limited in protecting their minutes early on. Uh, but you know again, Cam’s line 15 and nine and I think she could have been even more dominant and then Rickea made some big baskets for us so you see the potential um they’re going to be big for us all year and I think you both of them would say that they can play better,” Miller stated.

Brink potted the team’s third-highest 15 points with 9 rebounds. She also contributed in steals, assists, and blocks with 2 each in all three departments. But she had four turnovers and could only pot one of the three attempts she made at three-pointers, and it might be due to this reason that Miller would have opined that Brink could have been more dominant. 

Quite similar was the case for Jackson who besotted the team’s second-highest 16 points but failed to get her team to defeat the Fever. The Fever won the game by a 78-73 margin ultimately. And it might have been the loss that prompted Miller to have the tough conversation in the post-match press conference. But is Brink really not performing up to her caliber?

Cameron Brink’s unrealized potential

While the NCAA saw Brink decimate an average of 17.4 points per game, Brink hasn’t really lived up to the expectations in the WNBA. Though there have been occasional sparks just like she had in the game on Saturday, her points average reads just 8.3 points per contest. However, it is too early to judge her.

Brink has recently transitioned to the WNBA. She was the second overall pick in the 2024 draft and much like every rookie she is new to the team and taking her time to adjust.

After Miller’s statement, he would have told the areas of improvement to Brink too and perhaps it is this transparency that Brink needs to grow and be a legendary WNBA player.

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