New York Liberty ahead Betnijah Laney-Hamilton underwent surgical procedure on her left knee to restore an acute meniscus damage, the time introduced Monday afternoon.
The Liberty reported that Laney-Hamilton is projected to return to basketball exercise in 5 to 6 months, which might imply she’s prone to miss most, if not all, of your entire WNBA season.
Laney-Hamilton has been an integral a part of Liberty since she joined the staff in 2021. This previous season, she averaged 11.8 factors, 4.2 rebounds, and three.3 assists throughout 28 video games.
The 9-year WNBA veteran has performed for the Chicago Sky, Connecticut Solar, Indiana Fever, Atlanta Dream, and Liberty all through her profession.
It seems that Betnijah Laney-Hamilton suffered the damage throughout her Unequalled tenure
Within the offseason, Laney-Hamilton performed in Unequalled as a reduction participant for the Laces, however suffered what was an undisclosed damage on the time. The brand new skilled ladies’s basketball 3-on-3 basketball league introduced shortly after that Laney-Hamilton would miss the remainder of the season.
Shortly after, the Liberty launched an announcement to The Subsequent’s Jackie Powell on Laney-Hamilton’s standing: “The New York Liberty are in communication with Unequalled, Betnijah, and her staff. We’re gathering info and figuring out [the] greatest subsequent steps with our medical workers. Additional updates will likely be supplied when out there.”
Led by Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu, the Liberty will nonetheless be stacked subsequent season
The Liberty will definitely miss Betnijah Laney-Hamilton subsequent season, as she was a significant and confirmed contributor and one of many staff’s elite defenders.
However the offseason acquisition of Natasha Cloud ought to reduce the affect of Laney-Hamilton’s prolonged absence. Cloud is equally an elite veteran two-way participant who averaged 11.5 factors and 6.9 assists for the Phoenix Mercury final season.
Most significantly, Liberty nonetheless have their Large Three from final 12 months: 2024 Finals MVP Jonquel Jones, two-time MVP Breanna Stewart, and sharpshooter Sabrina Ionescu, along with Leonie Fiebich, who had an excellent rookie season final season.
Nonetheless, Laney-Hamilton is a serious loss. And whereas she’s not formally out for your entire season, the timeline the Liberty supplied signifies she’ll, on the very least, miss most of it, because the WNBA season is ready to start in Might and run by way of October.
