Unrivaled has added a new WNBA player to the mix: New York Liberty forward Betnijah Laney-Hamilton. She joins the Laces Club, which continues to deal with a litany of injuries at the midpoint of the season.
New York Liberty forward joins Unrivaled as injuries mount
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton becomes the latest WNBA player to join Unrivaled with a relief player contract.
Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
Noa Dalzell is a senior writer covering the WNBA and all of women’s basketball for Breakaway, SB Nation’s women’s sports vertical, as well as the Celtics for CelticsBlog.
Unrivaled is a new professional 3-on-3 women’s basketball league co-founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart to allow WNBA players to stay in the U.S. during the offseason. The league, which tipped off on Jan. 17 in Miami, began the season with 36 WNBA players split among 6 teams but has added several additional players throughout the past month to provide additional bodies for teams who have been hamstrung with injuries.
Laney-Hamilton is fresh off a WNBA championship with the Liberty, where she shared the floor with Sabrina Ionescu (Phantom Club), Stewart (Mist Club), and Courtney Vandersloot (Mist). Now, she joins a Laces club that includes Tiffany Hayes, Jackie Young, Kayla McBride, Kate Martin, Stefanie Dolson, and Alyssa Thomas.
McBride has been Unrivaled’s second-leading scorer thus far, averaging 24.7 points per game. Thomas was one of the team’s most impactful all-around players before she went down with a knee injury on Jan. 24.
Laney-Hamilton should be an impactful addition to the Laces off the bat. The 6’0 forward is an elite defender who has been a critical member of the Liberty since 2021. Before that, she played for the Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun, Indiana Fever, and Atlanta Dream. Last season, she averaged 11.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.1 steals, while shooting 40.2% from three.
The Laces haven’t yet shared their injury report for Monday’s matchup against the Phantom, but last week, Hayes, Martin, and Thomas all missed out on Unrivaled’s 1v1 tournament dealing with a slew of injuries. Before that, the Laces game against the Vinyl was canceled in order to “prioritize player health and safety.”
Laney-Hamilton is the third WNBA player to join Unrivaled via a player relief contract. Minnesota Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman and Dallas Wings forward NaLyssa Smith both signed relief contracts midseason, meaning that they can move between teams throughout the 8-week season depending on which clubs are down players due to injuries.
The 31-year-old forward will make her Unrivaled debut on Tuesday night against the Phantom. At 4-3, the Laces currently have the league’s second-best record with four weeks left to play.
