Cameron Brink revealed her fiancé took an unconventional approach to getting her attention at Stanford this week, with the WNBA and Unrivaled Basketball star saying Ben Felton sent her an email instead of sliding into her DMs.
Felton, who competed on Stanford's rowing team, apparently made his move via a straightforward email.
"Hey Cameron, Wanted to chat you up but I think dms are a bit creepy. Not that an email is much better so here's my number," Felton wrote.
The strategy worked, as Brink and Felton began dating in March 2021.
Felton later proposed in September 2024 at the Shangri-La Paris Hotel in France, surprising Brink with the engagement after she attended a Balenciaga show during Paris Fashion Week.
Brink helped lead Stanford to two national championship games during her four-year college career, establishing herself as one of college basketball's premier players before going pro at the 2024 WNBA Draft. Brink now plays for the LA Sparks and Unrivaled Basketball's Breeze BC.
The couple plans to marry at Stanford's Memorial Church on campus, with Brink telling People Magazine she hopes to exchange vows at the location where their relationship began.
Felton's approach proved more effective than a typical DM, as Brink's large following made standing out difficult. However, the email introduction caught her attention and sparked a lasting relationship.
The couple's Stanford connection remains central to their love story.
The LA Sparks are in for a major upgrade, announcing plans for a dedicated $150 million training facility in what the WNBA team is calling "the largest investment to date in the history of women's sports for a single team."
The 55,000-square-foot development in El Segundo will feature two regulation basketball courts, a weight room, training areas, recovery rooms, a yoga studio, hydrotherapy, and a spa, as well as other amenities.
"We're building a place where Sparks players can be at their best on and off the court," said Sparks governor Eric Holoman in the team's Wednesday press release.
With both surging revenues and a looming new CBA shaping WNBA teams' every move, state-of-the-art facilities have become a must-have for organizations looking to attract top talent for next season — and beyond.
LA is just the latest team to enter the facility arms race, joining the Chicago Sky, Indiana Fever, Dallas Wings, New York Liberty, and 2026 expansion side Portland Fire.
The Seattle Storm, Phoenix Mercury, and Las Vegas Aces have all recently debuted their own splashy dedicated training centers.
The LA Sparks are anticipating a 2027 opening for their new facility, rushing toward the finish line following several years of short-term contracts with third-party practice centers.
Atlanta head coach Karl Smesko made WNBA history on Monday, becoming the winningest first-year manager on record after the No. 3 Dream earned their 29th victory of the season by defeating the No. 11 Connecticut Sun 87-62.
With Monday's result, Smesko surpassed the previous 28-win record set by former LA Sparks head coach Michael Cooper in 2000 — and boosted his position in the 2025 WNBA Coach of the Year race in the process.
Notably, while coaches like Cooper spent years as an assistant in the pros before leading a team, Smesko entered the 2025 WNBA season without any experience on the professional sidelines, with the Atlanta Dream hiring the 54-year-old following Smesko's 22 years helming the college team at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Smesko is now one of several new coaches seeing quick success at the sport's top level — with even more WNBA milestones looming on the horizon.
"It's nice that we're winning and that we're in a good position for the playoffs," Smesko said following Monday's victory. "Those types of [records] don't have a lot of meaning for me. The meaningful part is coming up: Are we going to be the best prepared for the playoffs?"
How to watch the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday
While it might not matter too much to Smesko, with one game left in the Atlanta Dream's 2025 regular season, he has the opportunity to pad his new record even more and finish the year with an even 30 wins on Wednesday.
The Dream will close out their 2025 regular season with a rematch against the Sun at 7 PM ET, with live coverage of the game airing on WNBA League Pass.
The No. 8 Seattle Storm clinched the final spot in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs by the skin of their teeth on Tuesday, taking down the No. 7 Golden State Valkyries by a narrow 74-73 margin to avoid leaving their postseason fate in the hands of the No. 9 LA Sparks.
The Storm outscored Golden State 21-12 in the fourth quarter to overcome a second-half Valkyries lead and seal the victory, with Seattle guard Erica Wheeler's team-high 17 points leading the charge off the bench.
"To be able to seize the moment, take care of business on home court against a team who is trending really positively, shows a lot of resiliency," said Seattle Storm head coach Noelle Quinn after the playoffs-clinching win.
The Storm's triumph was ultimately the Sparks' downfall, as LA fell just short of the postseason finish line despite claiming an 88-83 upset win over the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday night.
"The league is as good as it's ever been," Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts said postgame. "There's not a year in the history [of the WNBA] where 21 wins doesn't get you into the playoffs."
LA's elimination not only brightens Seattle's 2025 hopes, but it also bolsters their future, with the Storm owning the draft lottery-bound Sparks' 2026 first-round pick thanks to a blockbuster offseason trade.
With all eight 2025 playoff teams locked in, there's still plenty to play for as squads battle for the remaining postseason seeding in Thursday's four-game regular-season finale.
The No. 8 Seattle Storm are only one win away from making the 2025 WNBA Playoffs, shooting to oust the No. 9 LA Sparks from the postseason race by claiming a victory over the No. 6 Golden State Valkyries on Tuesday night.
"Our team has changed from the beginning of the season until now," Seattle head coach Noelle Quinn said earlier this week. "Part of that is finding some consistency with one another: minutes, reps, all of those things."
Should the Storm lose to the already-clinched Valkyries in their final 2025 regular-season game, Seattle will still have a shot at the playoffs: The Sparks must still win both of their remaining two games to secure a playoff berth and bounce Seattle from the postseason — starting with their own Tuesday night matchup against the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury.
"[We're] not talking about things we can't control," Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts said over the weekend. "Whether Indiana wins or loses or Seattle, we can't control that. We just have to focus on what we're doing and see how it all shakes out."
How to watch the Storm and Sparks on Tuesday
Both No. 8 Seattle and No. 9 LA will take the court at 10 PM ET on Tuesday, with the Storm battling No. 6 Golden State on WNBA League Pass while the Sparks face No. 4 Phoenix on NBA TV.
Just one ticket to the 2025 WNBA Playoffs remains, with the No. 7 Indiana Fever clinching their second straight postseason trip in a 94-65 win over the No. 10 Washington Mystics on Sunday.
Forward Natasha Howard led a balanced offensive effort for the Fever, with five players scoring in the double-digits to secure Indiana's first back-to-back playoff appearance since 2016.
"We never doubted ourselves," Indiana center Aliyah Boston said postgame. "We never doubted that we could be in the playoffs, even if things looked like it got harder."
With five Indiana players suffering season-ending injuries this year — including superstar Caitlin Clark — a season that was projected to finish in a deep playoff run seemed initially derailed as the team battled mounting adversity.
"With all the stuff that we've been through, most teams would have folded, and we just kept getting stronger," head coach Stephanie White said. "These women in the locker room deserve a lot of credit for their ability to stay resilient, to stay together, to stay hungry, and to stay the course."
As for the eighth and final spot in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs, both the No. 8 Seattle Storm and the No. 9 LA Sparks are still in the mix, with this week's WNBA slate set to determine a winner.
Seattle has the most control of their destiny, needing a win in their final game to book a postseason ticket, while the Sparks must walk away with victories in both of their final two games plus see the Storm falter in order to snag a playoff spot.
How to watch the deciding games in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs race
The No. 8 Seattle Storm will close out their 2025 regular season by hosting the No. 6 Golden State Valkyries at 10 PM ET on Tuesday, airing live on WNBA League Pass.
Meanwhile, the No. 9 LA Sparks must get past the No. 4 Mercury in Phoenix at 10 PM ET on Tuesday before hosting the league's final regular-season game on Thursday: a 10 PM ET showdown against the currently unbeatable No. 2 Las Vegas Aces.
Both of the Sparks' final two games will air live on NBA TV.
The 2025 WNBA Playoffs are halfway set, with the No. 3 Atlanta Dream and No. 4 Phoenix Mercury joining the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx and No. 2 Las Vegas Aces in clinching postseason berths over the weekend.
The Lynx will officially enter the playoffs as the No. 1 overall seed, claiming home-court advantage after back-to-back weekend wins.
"We have a scenario now that if we win our home games, we win a WNBA championship," Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve said following Saturday's 94-70 drubbing of the No. 11 Connecticut Sun. "It doesn't mean that it's easy. But anything that you can get to be an advantage in your favor, we needed to be able to secure that."
With just 10 days left in the regular season, five teams remain in the running for the last four tickets to the 2025 WNBA Playoffs: the No. 5 New York Liberty, No. 6 Golden State Valkyries, No. 7 Indiana Fever, No. 8 Seattle Storm, and No. 9 Los Angeles Sparks.
After Monday's key 91-85 win over the Storm, the Sparks now sit one and a half games below the cutoff line on the WNBA table — though they'll have to get past top contenders Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Phoenix to secure a trip to the posteason.
"I was watching the film [against Atlanta] today and we're a totally different team in terms of how we play and who's healthy now," said LA head coach Lynne Roberts following Monday's victory.
How to watch the LA Sparks, Minnesota Lynx this week
The No. 9 Sparks will try to snap the No. 3 Dream's two-game winning streak on Wednesday, tipping off in Atlanta at 7:30 PM ET, with live coverage on WNBA League Pass.
Then on Thursday, while the No. 1 Lynx will coast into a top-table clash against the No. 2 Aces, airing at 10 PM ET on Prime.
The No. 7 Seattle Storm crashed the playoff-clinching party on Thursday, handing the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx a 93-79 upset loss to keep multiple WNBA teams from punching postseason tickets.
"We've been searching for this type of a game to have at this juncture of the season," noted Storm head coach Noelle Quinn after Seattle handed Minnesota their biggest blown lead in franchise history.
"Play some f—ing defense, man," Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve said afterwards, criticizing her team's performance. "Act like that end matters. We have not done that in a long time."
With six spots still open in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs, the Storm's Thursday comeback win spurred chaos, preventing the Lynx from officially booking the postseason's No. 1 seed for at least one more game while also blocking clinching scenarios for the No. 3 Atlanta Dream and No. 4 Phoenix Mercury.
Even so, the Mercury did take one step closer to a playoff berth with a tight 83-79 win over the No. 12 Chicago Sky on Thursday, with small forward Kahleah Copper's 28 points helping Phoenix hold ground in the WNBA standings.
"I feel like we're doing an incredible job, we all want to do the right things," Copper said. "We've just got to continue to clean up the little things."
How to watch the Seattle Storm this weekend
With just four regular-season games remaining, Seattle will play host over the long Labor Day weekend.
The No. 7 Storm will first face the No. 12 Sky at 9 PM ET on Saturday, airing on WNBA League Pass.
Then on Monday, Seattle will battle the No. 9 LA Sparks at 10 PM ET, with live coverage on NBA TV.
The No. 6 Indiana Fever are still in control of their playoff destiny, taking down the No. 8 Seattle Storm 95-75 behind star center Aliyah Boston's dominant 27-point performance on Tuesday night.
Also helping to offset Indiana's slate of high-profile injuries were guards Kelsey Mitchell and midseason hardship signee Odyssey Sims, who combined for 43 points in Tuesday's win.
"Every game at this point in the season is huge, and this one was a big one for us," said Fever head coach Stephanie White afterwards. "We knew that we had to come out and show some urgency."
"Going into this game, we talked about how this is a big game for us and an important game for us considering the standings," echoed Boston. "This is a great win for us before we head on the road."
After losing multiple guards to season-ending injuries this month, Indiana entered Tuesday's matchup having lost six of their last eight games as they await the return of sidelined superstar Caitlin Clark.
"[Boston] has been the one that's been most affected by all of our injuries, all of the point guards who can get her the ball," White continued. "She set the tone for us on both ends."
As for Seattle, Tuesday's loss dropped the Storm to eighth in the WNBA standings, sitting just above the postseason cutoff line with the No. 9 LA Sparks hot on their heels.
"There's no excuse for what happened today other than not matching the energy of the other team," said Seattle forward Nneka Ogwumike, who led her squad's scoring with 17 points on Tuesday.
How to watch the Indiana Fever, Seattle Storm this week
No. 6 Indiana hits the road this weekend, taking on No. 9 LA at 10 PM ET on Friday on ION before facing the No. 7 Golden State Valkyries at 8:30 PM ET on Sunday, with live coverage airing on NBA TV.
An uphill battle is on deck for No. 8 Seattle as the Storm gear up for an 8 PM ET clash against the league-leading Minnesota Lynx on Thursday, airing live on WNBA League Pass.
The No. 7 Golden State Valkyries refuse to give away their shot, as the first-year expansion side split their weekend results to maintain positioning above the WNBA postseason cutoff line on a 19-18 overall 2025 record.
With seven regular-season games left, the Valkyries are courting history, vying to become the first-ever expansion team to reach the playoffs in their debut year.
Golden State guard Veronica Burton is leading the Valks' charge, registering 25 points and 13 assists against the already-eliminated No. 13 Dallas Wings in Sunday's 91-80 victory to further her squad's postseason dreams.
Despite losing players to injury, the Valkyries remain on track for playoff contention, performing just well enough to fend off fellow mid-table strivers like the No. 9 Los Angeles Sparks and No. 8 Indiana Fever from ascending the WNBA standings.
"This is nothing new for us," Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase said of her team's consistency. "What I like about our players is we are always continuing to try to help each other."
How to watch the next Golden State Valkyries games
Golden State have earned a rest, with the Valkyries currently sitting out the week before hosting the No. 10 Washington Mystics at 8:30 PM ET on Saturday and the No. 8 Indiana Fever at the same time on Sunday.
Saturday's clash will air live on WNBA League Pass, while NBA TV will carry the Valkyries' Sunday matchup.