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New York Liberty fans got some disappointing news on Monday when Unrivaled announced that two starters from the 2024 WNBA champions won't finish out the league's inaugural season.
Sabrina Ionescu and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton will both miss the rest of the Unrivaled season, which runs through March 17.
“Sabrina Ionescu 👻 will not participate in remaining scheduled games due to commitments made prior to her joining Unrivaled,” the league announced. “Betnijah Laney-Hamilton will be out for the remainder of the Unrivaled season due to injury.”
The league did not disclose the nature of Ionescu's commitment or Laney-Hamilton's injury.
Ionescu played nine games for the Phantom, averaging 18.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. Her team, however, is just 3-8, and in last-place in the six-team league. Though her season is over, she's already looking forward to year two.
“To be able to do what we’ve done here in Year 1 and for it to be that successful, it’s kind of hard to top,” Ionescu said. “Everyone here bought in to make sure it goes right. The direction it’s headed in is ‘let’s get more people, let’s get more teams, let’s go to more cities. I’d love to go to Barclays Center.”
As for Laney-Hamilton, she played only two games for Unrivaled as a member of the Laces, who are coached by Liberty director of player development Andrew Wade. She joined the league a couple weeks ago as an injury replacement player. As a member of the league's reserve playing pool, she could have suited up for any team when rostered players weren't available.
Laney-Hamilton scored 23 points in her first game against Ionescu's Phantom on February 18 but had a much tougher go of it six days later against the Mist. She scored eight points on 2-14 shooting from the field in that game.
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The Liberty are working with Unrivaled on managing Betnijah Laney-Hamilton injury
Though we don't know the nature of Laney-Hamilton's injury, nor the amount of time she will need to heal beyond the end of the league season, the Liberty and Unrivaled are in communication about next steps.
“The NY Liberty are in communication with Unrivaled, Betnijah, and her team,” the team said in a statement to the New York Post. “We are gathering information and determining best next steps with our medical staff. Further updates will be provided when available.”
Laney-Hamilton is already coming off a WNBA season affected by injury. She underwent knee surgery midseason, using the Olympic break to help heal. She returned in late August after missing nine games.
The veteran averaged 11.8 points per game in her fourth season in New York, shooting 40.2% from three on 3.6 attempts per game. She started 25 of the 28 games she played for the league champions.
