There’s still 5 AM call times. Drills ‘til you vomit. There’s still wear and tear and gnarly injuries and interminable travel days, fair-weather fans, and going painfully cold from the free throw line. There’s also, of course, the mind-boggling fast breaks, the rare yet glorious buzzer beaters, and those elusive trophies foisted high in the sky. And yet women’s professional basketball has long been the short-changed, neglected lot to its partnered league, the NBA.

Why? A crack at explanations, if you can call them that, are vast—some economically pragmatic, others systemically sexist—yet when distilled in a cultural context, the day-to-day terms of the WNBA mirror so much of other American workplace inequity, no matter the sector or category. Like many career environments over the years, strides have been made, with changes slowly but surely implemented. But alas, only so much can occur in wait. As iconic women’s rights activist, Gloria Steinem, famously said: “Power can be taken, but not given. The process of the taking is empowerment in itself.”

Enter the WNBA freshman class of 2024—led by Cameron Brink, Angel Reese, and Caitlin Clark, each hellbent on harnessing some of that inexplicable power that comes with being a professional athlete. Suddenly, our feeds are filled with high-fashion tunnel fits. Suddenly, ESPN dedicates more airplay and segments. Ticket sales are up, merchandise sales have spiked. There is a genuine WNBA fever afoot. And while these rookies and others are committed to this quest for capturing said power, they are also quick to issue due kudos to the arguably rougher paths previously forged in their stead by the current veterans of the league, along with those that have hung up the sneakers for retirement.

At the center of this conscientiousness and appreciation is Forward Cameron Brink, a native of Oregon, who was a powerhouse at Stanford University, where she helped her team win a national championship as a freshman. In her second season with the Cardinal, she won a shared Pac-12 Player of the Year honor, a designation she would standalone win in her senior year. Not long after her being drafted to the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks as the number two overall pick, Brink learned she’d been selected to play on Team USA’s 3x3 Team at the Paris Olympics this July.

Painfully true to the aforementioned rough patches faced by the trailblazers of the WNBA, though, Brink’s inaugural outing as a WNBA star—complete with a New Balance contract in her pocket, the first by a WNBA player—was abruptly halted with a torn ACL injury in late June against the Connecticut Sun, upending the fairytale of the last several months. Brink, of course, though only aged 22 at present, handled the unfortunate news with impeccable and mature grace, posting to her Instagram: “You never think it will happen to you. And despite all the hard work sometimes it does. This is hard to fathom but I know it will only make me stronger. I will not be derailed and I will continue to love this life- I’m not defined by basketball, but it is something that I love deeply and I will work everyday to get back to it. It’s not goodbye basketball it’s just a see you later. I’m always so thankful for your thoughts and prayers. #delayednotdenied”

We caught up some weeks before this unfortunate hiccup in what will no doubt be a promising and inspiring trajectory ahead, to discuss the rejuvenated hype around the WNBA at present, the varieties of “game face” one might cultivate, and honoring the legacy that came before she stepped into the big leagues.

Are you sleeping okay with all the hubbub?

You know, you get the sleep you can. I think you just take advantage of the momentum that’s around the sport right now and the appearances, the podcast, they’re super fun.

You mentioned the enthusiasm or hype around the sport right now. How would you describe what you’re witnessing? 

It’s kind of groundbreaking. It’s just really exciting and honestly unfamiliar for me to have this much attention around women’s sports and women’s basketball, but we embrace it. We hope this momentum continues. There is a bit of fear, like, will people kind of hop off the bandwagon per se.

When you mention a fear about the popularity being only short-lived, is that because of short-lived attention spans, or where's that coming from?

Yeah, especially with media now and how short media—like videos—everything is continually shortened to fit with our attention span. I don’t know if that’ll carry over to our league. I hope not. I don’t think it will because we have so much to offer. I think it’s just a part of me hoping that me and these other women get the continued support of the media and fans because we work so hard. Our league has just kind of been... not disrespected, but it’s not really familiar to us to have this amount of support.

What are you learning, entering the league, about some of the veterans or folks that have been in the system for a long time kind of building that legacy?

I think, especially this year, I’m learning how hard it is to win. It is extremely hard. So every single game is going to be a battle. What I’m learning from the vets is that they show up every day with an amazing attitude and the willingness to help the rookies. It’s honestly inspirational for me just playing with these women who show up every day even when the days are hard. A lot of them are mothers. They have kids. This is how they support their families, so this is really important stuff, and I really just respect not just my teammates and my veterans, but the women and people across the league that really pour their everything into it.

Have you encountered any sentiments that your generation is having it easier than others and resenting you for that?

I said this on a podcast recently with Paul George [former NBA player for the Clippers]: When it comes to the veterans, in my perspective, I know that we’re in the position we are in now because of the hard work they’ve been putting in and what they’ve been enduring. Now we get chartered flights, and for the years before all of this, they had to fly commercial, which doesn’t sound terrible, but it adds up on our bodies. Also in the past years, players had to share hotel rooms, which is just hard. I think this new rookie class, we’ve brought some media attention, but from my standpoint, I recognize that they have helped us get to where we are.

And how about your responsibility to the up-and-coming generation?

I think we can all remember when you are younger, you have idols and they really mean everything to you, so to think that I could be something for just one girl is honestly kind of like a pinch-me moment, because I’ve had so many amazing female role models growing up, strong female role models in my mom and my godmother, Sonya Curry, and other female athletes I’ve looked up to. Every year, I hold a youth basketball camp for girls specifically in Oregon because I’m from Oregon, but the main messaging for my camp is to just stay involved. When you look at the numbers, it’s very, very rare to make it to Division 1, and even more rare to make it professionally. The percentages are very slim, and I don’t want kids to just be outcome-driven. I don’t want them just to play the game to be a pro or be D1. Boys are encouraged to stay with their sport, and they don’t often quit until after high school, and girls will drop out because they feel self-conscious or because they don’t feel supported in their sports. I think it’s just important for young girls to keep playing if they love it.

How about the importance of being able to be several versions of yourself? There’s obviously the game and competition and performance and physical-focused Cameron, but now you did a high fashion shoot for this cover story, you’re making media appearances that show a different side of yourself, be it strong and sexual or academic and more serious and focused—no matter what, out to win. What’s important about having that sort of dynamism in your character? 

I love to be masculine and feminine, and it depends on the day. There are a lot of days where I embrace that, but there’s also a huge part of me that identifies so much with my femininity. I love to wear heels and wear makeup and do my hair. It’s very near and dear to my heart to have that process of getting ready and feeling beautiful and feeling confident. That’s honestly a hot topic in the world of basketball and sports, because there are a lot of people who think that women shouldn’t wear makeup when they play basketball or a sport. And you know me, I wear almost a full face. I don’t think I need it, but I love it, and it makes me feel like the best version of myself.

I definitely really believe in duality and being able to do multiple things. I went to Stanford. I highly value academics because after basketball, what am I going to do? So I think that’s something the world needs to accept more. We need to stop boxing people in, especially athletes. We’re not just our sport. That’s what keeps my mental health going is having other things I can turn to, because we’re not just basketball players. We’re not just girly girls.

How does confidence relate to femininity for you?

I think it’s funny that a lot of people think I come across as very aggressive on the court, and it’s almost too much. I just caution that because I’m like, ‘No, that’s just me being competitive.’ I’m very passionate and that’s how it kind of manifests. I’m just very firey. And then off the court, people are very surprised when I’m...I don’t know. I like to think I’m very outgoing, and I like to connect with people. I take the time to talk with people and meet them where they are. I embrace the idea of duality. It’s honestly kind of like living a double life.

Do you think that it can also be healthy to have the odd enemy or foe in sports?

Even in college basketball, having that kind of rival per se is great for the narrative, and it’s great for the fans. It gets people engaged. I will say, at least speaking for myself, at the end of the day, you can still get into a tussle on the court. I’m sure you’ve seen people—people will get into it, but it’s still respectful for the most part at the end. It’s a part of sports. It’s a story. There’s a story to it and to every game. It’s not just numbers on a sheet and statistics. There are real people playing these sports with real feelings and they’re putting their all out there. I think it’s just really cool to watch.

Obviously, we addressed the heightened media atmosphere around the sport. What about the actual gameplay? Do you feel it’s evolving in front of your eyes? What are you noticing in terms of tempo or strategy or emphasis that might have been different from, say, 10 years ago?

My mom played Division 1 basketball at Virginia Tech, and she was actually the first to attend college in her family and to graduate because of Title IX. I would not be here without Title IX and my mom pushing through and earning a scholarship because that’s where she met my father, at Virginia Tech, and then, of course, they had me, so I think I can kind of speak to this. I’ve watched her film, and I can say that she was an amazing, amazing athlete. You watch the film and these women are amazing athletes, and they’re playing at such a high level, but you do, over the years, see the game evolve, and women [too] actually, because we’re not being boxed in like I said earlier.

I think a good example is Breanna Stewart or people like A’ja Wilson. Back in the day, a lot of taller players were kind of boxed into staying on the low block and doing what traditional posts would do. And now, I take pride in this, as a taller, bigger post player, you kind of see a shift of us passing the ball more, ball handling, shooting, coming off of screens. So the game is really developing. People are becoming more versatile regardless of what their body types are.

How about coping with all of the business and dealmaking that is part of being pro. How are you coping?

I’m thankful because I got a heads-up on dealing with brands and being lucky enough to work with them because of NIL and college. So I feel pretty prepared for the world that is now the professionals and being genuinely endorsed by brands. To be frank, as a female basketball player, our salaries are hard to sustain ourselves, especially for our needs throughout a whole year. That’s why endorsements are so important, and that’s why I’m so thankful for every brand I work with because that’s the majority of the money I make. It’s not from my basketball salary. My village is amazing. I call them “my village” because it truly does take a lot of people to make it go. So my agency, CAA, my parents. My boyfriend, honestly, is a huge, huge support for me. What I try to lead with in life is gratitude because a lot of it can be overwhelming, but you just have to remember that, at least for me, it’s a privilege to be doing this. I get to play the sport I love for a living. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter how many points you score. Being in a position to help people and impact people is really important and special to me. 

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Photographed by Daniella Midenge

Styled by Chloe Cussen

Written by Matthew Bedard

Hair: Ryan Richman at A-Frame Agency

Makeup: Lilly Keys at A-Frame Agency

Flaunt Film: Wyatt Stromer

Production Assistants: Maria Kyriakos and Cassey Ayala

Location: The Oasis by Weosh

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