LA Sparks just had their best game of the season and Cameron Brink was hardly involved

The Los Angeles Sparks might just have turned a corner.

Double-doubles from Nneka Ogwumike (20 points, 17 rebounds) and Dearica Hamby (22 points, 12 rebounds) helped the Sparks to their largest win of the season over the Portland Fire. The Sparks' defense -- heavily criticized in the season's first month -- shut down the Fire in an 89-72 win.

The Sparks improved to 5-6 as their veteran core tries to steer Los Angeles back to the WNBA playoffs for the first time since 2020. But as the Sparks' All-Stars round into form, Cameron Brink continues fighting against consistency.

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Brink, once heralded as the crown jewel of the Los Angeles rebuild, played only nine minutes in the Sparks' win over the Fire. Foul trouble kept her off the court again; Brink accrued four personals in just nine minutes, marking the seventh time in 11 games that the former second overall pick has picked up at least that many in a game.

Cameron Brink has four fouls, and now the Sparks have to send her to the bench. She has to figure out how to foul less. It's been an issue for three years now.

Brink has been whistled for 44 fouls in 11 games, which has affected how many minutes she can play.

Despite her strong defensive impact around the rim, Brink has played fewer than 10 minutes in a game (twice) just as often as she has played 20 or more in 2026.

In her third WNBA season, Brink is still struggling to carve out a role in Los Angeles, on a Sparks team that reset its competitive timeline by acquiring Ogwumike and Kelsey Plum in the past year. The former Stanford standout hasn't developed offensively after losing much of her rookie season with an ACL injury, and foul trouble continues to harm her ability to stay on the hardwood even though she's healthy now.

Only time will tell how the situation gets resolved, but it is starting to look like Brink and the Sparks just aren't a match anymore.

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