Cameron Brink wears Coat and Belt Gucci. Bikini Bottoms Sara Cristina. Sunglasses Ray-ban. Anklet Celine. Shoes Albright Fashion Library.
The WNBA is having a moment, and Cameron Brink is right in the middle of it. The Los Angeles Sparks forward became one of the league’s most visible stars, even after a knee injury derailed her rookie season. Rehab updates turned her recovery into a social media comeback story—boosted by a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit shoot and a hit podcast. By the time she returned last season, Brink was one of the league’s most marketable names—something she tells fellow Stanford University alum Phoebe Gates she’s still figuring out how to handle.
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FRIDAY 10:30 AM MAR. 6, 2026 L.A.
PHOEBE GATES: Hi there.
CAMERON BRINK: Hey, beautiful. Thank you so much for doing this.
GATES: Are you kidding? I saw this come through and I was like, “Duh.” I feel like we have so much synergy. We both went to Stanford and I saw you around campus, but we never fully connected. And we’ve been DM friends for forever.
BRINK: We’ve got a bunch of things to talk about.
GATES: I know you lived in Amsterdam for a few years, starting at eight years old. Do you think the younger version of you would recognize yourself today?
BRINK: I actually don’t. I was so not into sports, especially when I lived there. I think that has to do with the European vibe. Overseas, they’re just more chill, and sports aren’t as big of a deal, especially when you’re younger. I played for fun. When we moved back to Oregon is when everything went crazy.
GATES: Your mom played basketball at Virginia Tech and was also a model. When did your passion for basketball start?
BRINK: When we moved back from the Netherlands. My parents worked for Nike for 20-plus years, so I was thrown into that atmosphere of club tournaments every weekend. Around age 11 or 12, Stanford offered me a spot after attending a summer camp there. That’s when I really started to take things seriously.
GATES: At other schools, athletes are worshiped. At Stanford, there’s not as much of that culture on campus, so I have so much respect for everyone who chooses to do athletics there. There’s not as many benefits as you’d get at other schools. Was there ever a moment where you thought about different options?
BRINK: It was always Stanford. I had family in the area and I always regarded Stanford in a certain way. It was everything for me. I got so superstitious about getting in. I’d count everything in eights because there are eight letters in Stanford. And I loved that we were not held in any crazy regard because we were athletes. It made my college experience much more normal. I loved walking into class and actually collaborating with people. Not to throw them under the bus, but everyone I played with in the pros always had notes slid under the desk. I loved that I had to push myself.
GATES: I want to ask about Ben [Felter], your fiancé. I’ll be very honest: the Stanford love scene gets a lot of hate. The fact that he emailed you versus sliding into your DMs—
BRINK: [Laughs] Yes.
GATES: Stanford dating culture is really not a thing, so knowing you found love there makes me so happy. And both of you are also beautiful and athletes.
BRINK: I love you.
GATES: Can you talk a little bit about that story?
Bra and Skirt Givenchy By Sarah Burton.
BRINK: Did you ever do Marriage Pact? Athlete Marriage Pact was a thing during COVID, when no one was on campus but the athletes. Lexie and Lacie Hull, teammates of mine, were a part of this athlete social chair thing because, with Stanford social life being what it is, you really have to go out of your way to meet people. So they started this little survey where people could hopefully get matched, and the questions were like, “What protein do you prefer?” “Where do you like to study?” So silly. But Ben and I were matched, so they gave us each other’s emails. He decided to email instead of DMing me, which is very gentlemanlike, because it was a trend going around to post your first interaction with someone you ended up with.
GATES: Where was your first campus date?
BRINK: The first date was actually at a viewpoint, probably 20 minutes off campus. It was the middle of COVID, and his team was on lockdown because they got in trouble for throwing a party. Silly college stuff. I wasn’t supposed to go out either, but we met in some random area. He asked me to be his girlfriend right before we won a national championship, and then we dated all through college. We shared a twin bed in Suites [a residence hall]. That was our whole sophomore and junior year. I’m very clingy.
GATES: If you can share a twin bed in Suites, I think your relationship can survive a lot, because wow. Me and my [Phia] co-founder [Sophia Kianni] were spoiled. We ended up living in Mirrielees together. We had the two little rooms. I don’t know if Phia [an AI shopping app] would’ve started if we were sharing a twin bed in Suites. My goodness.
BRINK: Stanford housing is not glamorous whatsoever, so if you can make it through any relationship—romantic, platonic—kudos, because you get tired of each other very quickly.
GATES: I want to talk about basketball. I feel like the WNBA is in such a pivotal time, where it’s getting more investment, more eyeballs. What is the number one thing people don’t talk about enough?
BRINK: How consistently good our product has been. It’s still a really young league, and obviously we’re going through our whole battle with the CBA [Collective Bargaining Agreement]. We’re just trying to get paid what we’re worth. I think people are seeing the W as this new and shiny thing, but for two decades the level of play has been so high. I look up to so many women, like Sheryl Swoopes and Lisa Leslie. They’re famous now, but I wish they had that recognition while they were playing. It’s funny, when my mom was graduating college, the WNBA wasn’t even a thing. She was juggling this idea of, “Should I go play overseas? Should I start a family?” It’s come so far from her worrying about how she’s going to support herself in a different country. We built this crazy, amazing product.
GATES: Totally. I think I’m spoiled in business in a way that an athlete isn’t because my body isn’t discussed within my career. It’s in focus for female athletes in a way that it isn’t for male athletes, frankly. It’s interesting because you have such a public persona, and now seeing you blow up since your injury—do you feel like it’s possible to be an incredible athlete without having a personal brand?
BRINK: I was literally just talking about this with my best friend. I could open a whole can of worms around body image and being a female athlete. How we look is way more talked about than with men. I would be lying if I said I didn’t care about the way I look, but I’m trying to showcase that more in the outfits I wear. I want them to feel like an extension of myself. I don’t want to have to fit into any beauty standard. In the W, we have these tunnel outfits, and we get to be explorative and fun with what we wear. But I want to be clear, it’s not about how I look physically. It’s about my outfit being an extension of me and how I want to show up to work.
GATES: Right.
Swimsuit Norma Kamali. Earrings Patricia Von Musulin.
BRINK: At the same time, who cares if we want to look good? It’s really hard as a female basketball player to make money outside of our contracts. That’s what we’re fighting for right now. It’s really hard to live a lifestyle, especially in an expensive market like L.A. or New York, on a rookie contract. I’ve been lucky and I’ve seen what opportunities can come through pouring yourself into social media. I’ve tried to be vocal about this and acknowledge there’s such a privilege, marketing-wise, being white and blonde, but it does really bother me seeing athletes and players who are consistently putting up crazy stat lines and not being rewarded by brands. It’s tough.
GATES: I’m really glad you’re speaking about this. Our beauty standards aren’t necessarily healthy or strong. But I also see you as an incredible marketing genius. You also have this giant business around you that you’re running. How do you balance those things?
BRINK: Everyone says this: Work with brands that authentically amplify what you care about. That’s honestly some of the best advice. I know it’s easier said than done. I’m just so excited to be focusing more on fashion. I could scroll on Phia all day. I’m not joking. It’s my thing.
GATES: You sat front row at a Balenciaga show. What’s the difference between how people in sports see your body versus people in fashion?
BRINK: That’s a great question. My body is talked about a lot in sports, which I get. I’m definitely not a conventional frame. I’m super lean. If you look at my parents, it’s just how I’m built. I’m long and lanky, and in fashion that’s celebrated, which is affirming to me sometimes. It’s weird. It’s like you have to fit into the standard of being super skinny, but also be strong and powerful. And you still have to withstand the grueling basketball season. I’ve just let go of how I’m going to be perceived on the fashion side. I’m never going to be a sample size. I’m never going to have a 24-inch waist. That’s just not my body type, and that’s also not going to contribute to basketball. I’m lifting heavy weights and working out in a way that’s going to actually help me on the court.
GATES: I struggle with that so much, even working in the fashion industry. The bodies fashion emphasizes—it’s sad because they’re not necessarily strong, healthy female bodies—and it’s been this way for decades. That really isn’t healthy for most people.
BRINK: Exactly.
GATES: I want to talk about your mental strength. You had your injury and you came back mid-season. For your first game back, what was going on in your head? What’s your motivational self-talk?
BRINK: As women, we’re taught to be super, super hard on ourselves. The idea of, “I’m going to speak to myself nicely today” sounds easy until you actually try to embody it. But once you do, it’s life changing. Leading up to my first game back, I worked on emphasizing that I’m only going to speak to myself kindly and reframe things in a positive way. In basketball I struggle with being really hard on myself over my efficiency. I get really anal about all these little things that ultimately I can’t control. So I try to go into it like, “Okay, I can control my effort, how I bounce back from things, and not just tank on myself because of course things aren’t going to be perfect.” Especially coming from an environment like Stanford, you’re used to trying to be perfect. I’ve finally embraced that perfectionism is a total myth. Instead I’m trying to be excellent, which is a whole different pursuit. I never talked to myself kindly until I got injured, so I feel like everything happens for a reason.
GATES: You being honest about that is so important because, frankly, you’ve become incredibly famous in these last two years. Now that you have all this attention on you, do you feel like there’s things you have to protect yourself or your relationships from?
Top and Skirt Balenciaga. Shoes Gianvito Rossi.
BRINK: It’s so weird. I still feel like I’m stuck in the mindset of women’s basketball being a bit more niche. There were never a ton of fans at Stanford. Everyone treated you normally. Going from Northern California to L.A., people treat you so differently. I think I’m a little naive about my reach. I know people are actually watching women’s basketball and they’re super invested, but I try to not overextend myself. It’s hard because I’m genuinely an open book. I try to connect with people, which gets hard because my energy is so limited. In school, you could just caffeine your way through class. But now I’m like, my anxiety can’t handle all the caffeine. I actually need to sleep.
GATES: On a fun note, what are you excited about for your honeymoon?
BRINK: Oh my gosh. Ben and I have had weekends here and there, like Big Sur and stuff, but we’ve never actually gone on a vacation, which is kind of sad. Our five years of being together is coming up and we’ve never made time for something like that, so I’m very, very excited. He’s also on the startup journey right now, so it’s really cool to be with someone who understands how busy I am. And I’m trying to help him through his dream too. We’ve been engaged for two years. It’s like, “Let’s just get married and take a vacation,” and then we can cross that off our list.
GATES: I love that. And your bachelorette trip?
BRINK: Well, my mom and godmother are actually going to be present. I don’t know if that’s normal.
GATES: The whole time?
BRINK: Pretty much. [Laughs] They’re a fun time. We’ll probably go out to bars without them because they probably won’t want to come. I’m excited for the outfits. I love a good curated weekend of looks. I could talk to you about fashion all day. When I’m done with basketball, that’s what I would love to go into.
GATES: What outfit are you excited about for your bachelorette trip?
BRINK: I have this Cult Gaia raffia bag. It’s a huge circle. It takes up half my body and I’m 6’5”. I would love to see you wearing this big bag.
GATES: I don’t think you would see me. I’d be totally hidden.
BRINK: I like to scroll through your recommendations on the app. Ben is always like, “Are you shopping?” And I’m like, “Yeah, I’m spending way too much money.”
GATES: Send me those honeymoon looks and the bachelorette trip looks and we’ll make them shoppable in the app.
BRINK: That’s a great idea. I feel like I just talked your ear off. My mom is always like, “You say ‘like’ too much.” I’m like, “I’m sorry.”
GATES: Happy bachelorette trip. I have caffeine with me right now, so we can cheers on that.
BRINK: Yay. Are you in the Bay right now?
GATES: I’m in New York, but I’ll come back to the Bay sometime. We can do a double date. We’ll do drinks and then the guys can join us for dinner.
BRINK: Yes please. Awesome.
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Hair: Leah Caso at The Wall Group.
Makeup: Daniela Gozlan using Mac Cosmetics at The Wall Group.
Photography Assistant: Daniela Molina.
Fashion Assistant: Calvin Shahriari.
On-set Production: Alejandro Valladares and Iván Sikic.
Location: Spaces by Chelsea.
Special Thanks: Chelsea Roth at Sera Sera Experiences.
