Betnijah Laney-Hamilton injury: Liberty lose key guard for WNBA title defense for 5-6 months with knee surgery

Laney-Hamilton suffered the injury during the inaugural Unrivaled season

In a major blow to the New York Liberty's WNBA championship defense, the team announced Wednesday veteran guard Betnijah Laney-Hamilton will be sidelined for five-to-six months after undergoing knee surgery to repair a meniscus tear. 

The 2025 WNBA season will tip off May 16 and the regular season will run through Sept. 11, with the playoffs starting Sept. 14 and the last possible Finals date set for Oct. 17. Even in a best-case scenario, Laney-Hamilton will miss the majority of the regular season, and depending on how her recovery goes, it's possible she does not play at all in 2025. 

Here is the team's full press release:

Earlier this month, New York Liberty guard/forward Betnijah Laney-Hamilton successfully underwent surgery on her left knee to repair an acute meniscus injury. Dr. Riley J. Williams III and Dr. Ben Nwachukwu performed the procedure a Hospital for Special Surgery.

Betnijah has begun rehabilitation and is projected to return to basketball activity in five to six months. Further updates will be provided as appropriate.

Laney-Hamilton suffered the injury while playing in the inaugural season of Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 basketball league co-founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier. Unrivaled announced on March 3 that Laney-Hamilton would be out for the remainder of the upstart league's season, and the Liberty said in a statement at the time that they were "gathering information." 

This is the latest knee injury and surgery for Laney-Hamilton, who missed nearly seven weeks last season after a minor procedure on her right knee. While she returned for the the final stretch of the regular season and the playoffs, she did not look like her usual self. She did, however, come up with some big moments in the playoffs, most notably a 20-point performance in the Liberty's win over the Minnesota Lynx in Game 2 of the Finals. 

At her best, Laney-Hamilton is an All-Star and All-Defensive caliber player, and her absence will be a major loss for the Liberty, especially after Kayla Thornton's departure to the Golden State Valkyries in the expansion draft. While Laney-Hamilton's numbers decreased after the arrival of Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones in 2023, her versatility on both sides of the ball and ability to create her own shot helped put the Liberty over the edge into superteam status. 

Without Laney-Hamilton and Thornton, the Liberty are suddenly looking a bit thin on the Wings. They'll need Leonie Fiebich, who impressed last season as a rookie, to take on even more responsibility, and will have to hope that veteran wing Rebekah Gardner, who missed all of last season after undergoing foot surgery, can return to her pre-injury form. Kennedy Burke will be another candidate for a bigger role assuming she makes the team out of camp. 

Even without Laney-Hamilton, the Liberty still have one of the most talented rosters in the league. They remain one of, if not the, favorite to win it all, but completing a repeat will be much more difficult if Laney-Hamilton cannot return for the playoffs.