Unrivaled celebrated its inaugural season earlier this year, with Rose Basketball Club winning their first championship. But one unfortunate thread through Unrivaled’s season was a string of injuries that caused the league to dip into their pool of reserve players.
Injuries from Unrivaled that will carry into WNBA Season
After Unrivaled had many of the WNBA’s best players join its first season, some are still recovering from injuries they suffered in Miami.
Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Chelsea Leite has been writing about professional basketball since 2021, and covers both the Toronto Raptors and Toronto Tempo as a credentialed reporter for SB Nation.
Players getting hurt during the yearlong grind of women’s basketball is nothing new, but with Unrivaled ending in mid-March and WNBA players reporting to training camp at the end of April, there is a short turnaround for any injured participants when it comes to healing.
Not all injuries from Unrivaled have been disclosed or updated on, but a few have. With the WNBA season nearly upon us, here are the players who may miss some time after getting hurt during Unrivaled.
Breanna Stewart - Meniscus Scope
The three-time WNBA champion and Unrivaled co-founder needed a procedure done after the season concluded. Immediately following her Mist BC team being eliminated from the playoffs, Stewart posted a picture of herself in a hospital bed. She also joked on her Instagram that she “wouldn’t need tape” anymore, indicating the knee might have been bothering her.
Shortly after, the New York Liberty released a statement saying that Stewie had undergone a minor scope on her right meniscus — her knee. It was successful, and the Liberty assured fans that Stewie should be ready to play at the start of the WNBA season. The hope is that whatever issue was bothering her in Unrivaled will not come back during the Liberty’s quest for back-to-back championships.
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton - Acute Meniscus Injury
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton joined Laces BC in Unrivaled for a short stint as an injury reserve player. Shortly after, she left with an injury. In late March, the New York Liberty released a statement saying Laney-Hamilton had undergone a successful surgery to repair an acute meniscus injury.
Unlike Stewart, Laney Hamilton is expected to miss some time, as the Liberty say she will be out for the next 5-6 months in recovery. This means the Liberty may not see her on the court again until the end of the season at the earliest.
That’s definitely a blow to the reigning champions, but luckily they still have Leonie Fiebich to fill in while Laney-Hamilton recovers. They also recently traded for Natasha Cloud in order to fill the spot left by Courtney Vandersloot, who signed with the Chicago Sky in free agency.
Kahleah Copper - Right Leg, Angel Reese - Hand, Arike Ogunbowale - Right Leg
These were the three players who sat out of the championship game between Rose BC and Vinyl BC due to injuries. Kahleah Copper (Phoenix Mercury), Angel Reese (Chicago Sky) and Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas Wings) suffered injuries, but few details were given on the specifics. Both Copper and Ogunbowale’s issues were classified as “right leg,” while Reese’s was classified as “hand.”
The Reese injury is concerning, given that a wrist injury ended her rookie season early. She had surgery and did not miss any time at the start of Unrivaled. The lack of specification on which hand she injured going into the Unrivaled Playoffs means we don’t know if she re-injured that same spot, or if this is totally unrelated.
The Mercury, Sky and Wings have not given any updates on the progress of these injuries. But as training camp approaches, these teams will start to give updates on the status of players who participated in Unrivaled, Athletes Unlimited, and overseas play, so fans should expect to hear more soon.
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