Another Liberty Star Joins Unrivaled

Another dash of New York Liberty seafoam has been added to the Unrivaled proceedings.

The 3-on-3 league co-founded by New Yorker Breanna Stewart announced on Tuesday that Betnijah Laney-Hamilton will sign with Laces BC on a relief contract. Laney-Hamilton will remain in the Unrivaled relief player pool for the rest of the season.

Laney-Hamilton, 31, joins Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and Courtney Vandersloot on the Unrivaled floor in Miami. The Laces (4-3) are also coached by Andrew Wade, who was recently named the Liberty director of player development, and feature Laney-Hamilton's former Liberty teammate Stefanie Dolson.

A seafoam civil war to set to break out on Tuesday night as Laney-Hamilton and Laces face Ionescu's squad, Phantom BC, at Wayfair Arena (8:45 p.m. ET, TNT). Injury issues for the Laces, such as those to Tiffany Hayes and Jackie Young, have eaten away at a strong second-place run, one that endured a loss when a lack of available women forced them to drop a Feb. 8 game against Vinyl BC.

Along with Ionescu, Laney-Hamilton is one of the longest-tenured New Yorkers on the Liberty roster, as she's set to enter her fifth season in seafoam after coming over as a free agent in 2021. The Rutgers alumna has made a name for herself as one of the most dangerous two-way stars in the WNBA, as she is equally capable of putting points on the board as she is keeping them off.

Laney-Hamilton averaged 9.5 points and 3.3 rebounds last season, which was partly hampered by a knee injury in the latter portions. She nonetheless came up big for New York during its first run to a postseason championship, notably putting up a 20-point performance in Game 2 of the 2024 WNBA Finals in Brooklyn. That effort tied the best-of-five series at a one game apiece.

In addition to her newly-earned championship ring, Laney-Hamilton earned All-Star honors during her first season with the Liberty in 2021, one year after she the WNBA's Most Improved Player in the Bradenton bubble. The daughter of Yolanda Laney, one of the stars of Cheyney State's unexpected run to the innaugural championship game of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, Laney-Hamilton has also been named to the WNBA's All-Defensive Team twice and took home the Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award in 2022.

Laney-Hamilton and the Liberty open their first title defense on May 17 against the Las Vegas Aces.

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