Liberty Star Out 5-6 Months After Surgery

The star will miss most of the New York Liberty season after undergoing knee surgery.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

The New York Liberty's busy Bee will be sidelined for a while.

The defending WNBA champions announced on Monday that Betnijah Laney-Hamilton underwent successful left knee surgery to repair an acute meniscus injury. Laney-Hamilton is said to be ready for basketball activities in five-to-six months.

Laney-Hamilton, 31, is one of the longest-tenured New Yorkers, joining the team after a Most Improved Player campaign in the Bradenton bubble in 2020. The Rutgers alumna has established herself as dominant two-way force in New York, averaging 13.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in her four seasons. Laney-Hamilton was invited to her first All-Star Game in 2021 and also reached second team All-Defense honors en route to the WNBA Finals two years later.

This past season was a painful one for Laney-Hamilton, who missed the final stages of the pre-Olympic slate with right knee issues. She returned in time for the championship run and notably put up a 20-point showing in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals against the Minnesota Lynx, helping to even up the best-of-five series at a game apiece.

"I think what B brings is this grit, this toughness," Liberty teammate Breanna Stewart said after Laney-Hamilton's Game 2 masterpiece. "All of us know, she's giving us whatever she's got, and the way that she continued to be aggressive, they were going under on her and she knocked that thing down with confidence, got into the paint, drive, and kicks. But that's what we're used to."

Over this offseason, Laney-Hamilton briefly partook in Unrivaled, the three-on-three domestic offseason co-founded by Stewart. She played two games for Laces BC before leaving due to injury. Of note, she had 23 points in her Unrivaled debut back on Feb. 18, the last two providing the winning points in a triumph over Liberty teammate Sabrina Ionescu and Phantom BC.

With Laney-Hamilton out, the Liberty will likely fair newcomer Natasha Cloud with Leonie Fiebich and the "big three" of Ionescu, Stewart, and Jonquel Jones in the starting lineup. The injury could serve as an opportunity for 2024 first-round pick Marquesha Davis, who was chosen in part of her work in the transition game.

The Liberty open their first postseason championship defense on May 17 against the Las Vegas Aces.

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