Cameron Brink's Transformation Is Nothing Short Of Stunning

WNBA star Cameron Brink has dazzled just as much off the court as she has while landing hoops with the Los Angeles Sparks. The athlete gained widespread attention after her impressive college basketball career at Stanford University, going on to be the second overall WNBA draft pick in 2024. The 6-foot-4-inch beauty seemed born to play the sport, after being surrounded by the game ever since childhood. Not to mention her godbrother is the legendary Steph Curry, who has helped coach her ever since her high school days.

It's not only Brink's impressive evolution on the court that has turned heads, but her incredible social media presence as well. The professional player has built a flourishing career outside of sports, garnering several brand deals and becoming a successful influencer. With a promising WNBA career ahead of her, and even a potential chance at the Olympics, Brink has plenty to look forward to.

Not to mention she's got a good head on her tall shoulders whether she wins or loses. "Yes, you want to perform well and do your best on a big stage, but if you don't ... so be it. You're loved," she told Stanford University Athletics. So, how did the New Jersey native, who admittedly never dreamed of playing professional ball growing up, manage to land herself at the top of her league? Here's a look at Cameron Brink's stunning transformation.

Despite being born into a family with an impressive sports background, Cameron Brink wasn't interested in being an athlete when she was younger. It runs in her blood, however, with her mother, Michelle, clocking in at 6 feet 3 inches and her father, Greg, standing at 6 feet 8 inches. The pair met while playing basketball at Virginia Tech in the late '80s, and they both had impressive careers as student-athletes.

The couple went on to marry and welcome Cameron in 2001 while living in Princeton, New Jersey. The family later relocated to Amsterdam to work for Nike, with Michelle working in product management and Greg in supply chain management. Michelle and Greg eventually moved Cameron and her older brother, Cy, to Oregon, where they attended high school.

Despite her parents' impressive sports careers, Cameron admitted she wasn't interested in being an athlete until middle school. "I always wanted to be the black sheep," she explained on the "Strong Girls Pod." "I was like, 'I like art, I'm a girly girl,' I never really wanted to associate myself with basketball until sixth grade." Eventually, she grew to love the game after attending a Stanford summer basketball camp, where she began to see a future in the sport.

After swearing to herself growing up that she wouldn't wear a sports uniform, Cameron Brink ended up eating her words. The New Jersey native attended Southridge High School, where she played both basketball and volleyball.

Brink was a natural on the basketball court, competing in three state championship games, and bringing home the W in 2017 and 2018. By her third year with the Skyhawks, she had an impressive average of 21.3 points and 11.1 rebounds. Brink went on to snag the coveted title of Gatorade's Player of the Year for the 2018-2019 season, and the title for USA Today's Oregon Player of the Year in 2019.

Simultaneously, Brink was crushing it on the volleyball court as well. By her sophomore year, she made it on the varsity volleyball team, where she was ranked the 16th player in the state and the first in her league for the highest number of blocks. That same year, she helped her team achieve their first state title. Steph Curry celebrated the win, writing in an Instagram post, "Major congrats to the young phenom @cameron_brink finishing the job last night winning the 1st Oregon State Volleyball title in school history. So proud of ya!"

While Cameron Brink seems every bit as confident in her stunning photoshoots and gorgeous runway looks, her high school days were a far different story. The Sparks forward dealt with her fair share of bullying growing up, so much so that she transferred schools to escape the drama.

Brink's tall stature made her a target growing up, with her peers often calling her out for being too skinny. "She suffered a fair amount of body-shaming, even from her teammates," her mother told Just Women's Sports. "And it made her very self-conscious." Eventually, the stress caused her to switch schools before her senior year, despite leading her former alma mater to multiple state titles on two different sports teams. Brink even had to install a security system at her house due to people egging and toilet-papering the property several times.

"I wouldn't even say I was being bullied. Because bullying gives them too much power," Brink explained to the publication. "They weren't bullies. And I just decided to remove myself. I knew I deserved better, so I left. And I'm happy I did." The WNBA star looks back on the experience as growing pains that helped her become who she is. "Stop questioning yourself. Be authentically you," she learned. "Don't change for others, and don't give others the power to make you feel small."

When Cameron Brink went off to basketball summer camp at Stanford, she had no idea she would be playing for the university years later. After impressing assistant coaches, however, she earned herself a scholarship to the university while she was still in eighth grade. In 2018, she officially committed to playing for the school's team.

Brink was coached under Tara VanDerveer, who noticed her as a stand-out candidate during that pivotal summer camp stint. She racked up an outstanding resume while playing for Stanford, winning all 20 games she started in during her first year. She also helped the university clinch their first NCAA championship title in nearly three decades as a freshman. The Stanford basketball team reigned Pac-12 regular season champions all four years Brink played on the team, and she snagged the title of Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2022.

"She's a real special talent, and she's only going to get better," VanDerveer predicted to Stanford University Athletics in 2022. "She'll be an All-American. I don't think there's any doubt she'll be an Olympian. She's already a national champion. There's nothing that can stop Cam." Brink won the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year her senior year, a title given to the best defensive player in women's collegiate basketball. She graduated with the most single-season blocks in the school's history, a record she set her junior year and re-set her senior year.

Cameron Brink has a lot of reasons to thank her alma mater. The prestigious university allowed her to shine on the court, plus it introduced her to her long-time boyfriend, Ben Felter. The two began dating in 2021 after they both joined Stanford Athletics teams, with Felter racking up a stellar resume on the school's rowing team.

Being the sporty couple they are, Felter has helped his girlfriend think about her health as an athlete by inspiring her to drink more water. "[Ben] is a rower and they burn calories, lose sweat like crazy. And I kind of saw directly how much that affected his performance," she told Women's Health. From watching her beau, Brink has made a resolution to consume a gallon of water every day. "I've just felt the differences mentally, physically, my skin, everything. So it's such an easy fix to feel better as a whole," she added.

Brink and Felter celebrated their three-year anniversary in March 2024, with the rower taking to Instagram to share pictures of the pair over the years. "Three years together, a day to celebrate the soul that makes me whole," he captioned the post. Brink uploaded her own selection of favorite photos, along with the caption, "3 years with you. Plus qu'hier, moins que demain," which translates to, "More than today, less than tomorrow."

Cameron Brink made history in 2023 when she was announced as the first female basketball player to be signed by New Balance. The shoe giant broke the news in a press release that August, welcoming her to the fold alongside the likes of Jamal Murray, Kawhi Leonard, Zach LaVine. "We are thrilled to welcome Cameron as the first female basketball player to join the New Balance family," gushed the head of basketball sports marketing for the brand. "Cameron's exceptional skill on the court and her desire to give back align perfectly with New Balance's desire to change the game for the better."

It was a bold move for Brink, whose parents spent years working for Nike. She converted to New Balance despite her family history, talking about the decision in a press conference following the 2024 WNBA draft. "I'm definitely a Nike kid born and raised, I know, but ... [New Balance is] just a phenomenal brand through and through, what they stand for how they support their athletes ... I converted for sure," she shared at the time.

Brink celebrated her historic partnership by posing next to a giant billboard of her New Balance advertisement and posting a series of photos to her Instagram. "Thank you @newbalance," she wrote in the caption, including a photo of her boyfriend, Ben Felter, lying on the ground beneath the billboard capturing the shots with a digital camera.

During her senior year, Cameron Brink decided to enter the WNBA draft and ultimately became the second overall in April 2024. The basketball star was behind fellow basketball prodigy Caitlin Clark, the first overall pick selected by the Indiana Fever. Brink was picked up by the Los Angeles Sparks, becoming Stanford's highest pick ever since Chiney Ogwumike in 2014.

In a press conference following the draft, Sparks owner Magic Johnson expressed his excitement, noting that Brink would be an asset to the program. "She's led the nation for the last two years in block shots and ... she can shoot from the three-point line," he explained to the room. It was an especially fitting selection for the forward, who didn't have to move from her California home after graduation. "I love that I get to stay on the West Coast ... I'll also be close to family which is really important for me," she shared with reporters.

Brink credited the women before her who helped pave the way for women's professional basketball, explaining that she hopes to continue to help the WNBA reach new audiences. "I just want to continue the legacy of growing the sport," she said. "I know people keep saying that this is a historic draft class but there were many many talented draft classes before us."

Cameron Brink's godbrother is the one and only Steph Curry — and she has had a close relationship with the Golden State Warriors player over the years. Brink's father played with Curry's father at Virginia Tech, while her mother was close friends and roommates with Curry's mother. She has listened to the point guard for much of her basketball career, using his expertise to help guide her on her path to the WNBA.

Long before she even started playing basketball, the Los Angeles Sparks star was at Curry's side, back when he was playing for Davidson College. The point guard still remembers Brink's advice to him ahead of his Sweet 16 game in Detroit, when she was only 8 years old at the time. "She said, 'If you believe in yourself, you can be somebody,'" he told the Times-Herald.

Over a decade later, Brink has leaned on Curry as she continues to prove herself as one of the best female basketball players of her time. In a press conference following her WNBA draft in 2024, the forward admitted Curry was one of her first calls after she was selected as the second overall pick by the Sparks. She called the fellow professional basketball player a "great sounding board" as she enters a new phase of her career.

Cameron Brink may dominate on the court, but the blonde beauty has a pretty steady income from her social media presence as well. The New Jersey native has over one million followers on her Instagram and over 400,000 on TikTok, and she often shares photos from her brand deals and modeling jobs. 

Brink teamed up with mega-celebrity Kim Kardashian for a SKIMS partnership that was released in May 2024, uploading her photoshoot to her Instagram. "As the official underwear of the @WNBA, @SKIMS Fits Everybody is as comfortable as it gets," she captioned a series of photos of her posing in nude underwear and heels with a matching basketball. Her second SKIMS outfit was an all-black leotard with bejeweled gloves and necklace. The WNBA star has also partnered with companies like Mattress Firm, Sprouts, and Estée Lauder. Her lucrative brand deals have reportedly earned her close to $300,000 in brand deals by 2024, according to On3 Sports.

Could an Olympics run be in Cameron Brink's future? It seems that way, given the star athlete's exceptional skills on the court and her determination to continue reaching new levels in the sport.

The Olympics added 3x3 basketball to the games in 2020, which features teams of three competing in 10-minute games on a half-court, with the first team to achieve 21 points winning the game. Brink has proven to be a force in the 3x3 sector, competing in the game for the first time with Team USA in 2023 and taking home the World Cup title that year alongside her teammates.

Her skills could earn her a spot on Team USA in future Olympic games if she continues to play as she has in the past. "Gosh, it's been a dream of mine ever since I started really playing basketball," she told NBC Sports about a spot on an Olympic team. "To be able to represent your country on that big of a stage is just such an honor ... So if I go to enough tournaments, get enough points, and continue to be invested in the sport then I think it's [a] possibility."