Betnijah Laney-Hamilton joins Unrivaled and her new Liberty coach Andrew Wade 

She got a call on Friday from Unrivaled’s basketball operations brass asking if she was available and wanted to come play and serve as a relief player (Unrivaled’s version of a hardship player) for the rest of the season. 

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So she and her niece hopped on a plane down to Miami, Laney-Hamilton completed all of her physicals and then she participated in her first practice on Monday evening. She was immediately assigned to Laces BC, a team that is coached by Andrew Wade, the former Washington Mystics Player Development Assistant Coach and now the New York Liberty’s new Director of Player development.

“She’s so smart is what I’m learning,” Wade told The Next in a phone interview on Tuesday afternoon. “And this is my first time actually meeting her, observing her up close.”

Laces BC has had a slew of injuries, and prior to NBA All-Star weekend the team didn’t have enough available players to be able to play. The club’s Febuary 8 game against Vinyl BC was cancelled for that reason. Laney-Hamilton scored 23 points on 10-for-17 shooting, had 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 18 minutes of play in her first game for the shorthanded Laces BC.

Laney-Hamilton, Wade and the Laces defeated Sabrina Ionescu’s Phantom BC 75-68 on Tuesday night. Laney-Hamilton scored her 10 field goals on a mix of her classic mid range pull ups and tough footwork within the restricted area while out-muscling smaller guards. 

“It’s a blessing having her here, honestly,” Wade said postgame. “I was thrilled when I got the text. And seeing her work and just jell with the group. I knew it would be an easy fit.”

Following the Laces’ win, center Stefanie Dolson gave a speech about which player got the “golden lace,” a golden hightop sneaker given to the impact player of the game. First she shouted out KiKi Jefferson, another Laces relief player, but then proceeded to give the sneaker to Laney-Hamilton. “You kicked ass today,” Dolson said after Laney-Hamilton posed with the shoe and put it up to her ear like a telephone. 

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The decision to come to Unrivaled was “a no-brainer” for Laney-Hamilton once she considered what the 3×3 league would provide in the lead up to WNBA training camp. She had been watching the product Unrivaled put out from afar, and was impressed by what she saw and what the league was offering its players. 

After she joined Jonquel Jones in the Bahamas following the Liberty’s championship run back in October, Laney-Hamilton has had a relatively quiet offseason. Instead of jetting off to Japan as she has in the past to be with her husband Jordan Hamilton, who had played previously in Japan, she has stayed mostly stateside and has been training to get ready for the Liberty’s title defense. 

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With around 10 weeks left until WNBA training camps open up in late April, Laney-Hamilton can take advantage of access to live game reps and the state of the art facilities down in Miami. But also this opportunity allows her to get to know Wade, who joined the Liberty’s coaching staff this winter as the franchise’s Director of Player development. 

Wade, a very relationship predicated coach, is really excited for the opportunity to get a head start when it comes to learning who Laney-Hamilton is as a person and then a player before the two touch down in Brooklyn this spring. He wants to be able to understand her motivations and what she wants to achieve in the now and the future. 

“For me I’m a player who likes feedback so being here with one of my W coaches is really beneficial for me because he knows our system and everything and he’ll be able to coach me up not just for this but for the upcoming WNBA season,” Laney-Hamilton said when asked about Wade. 

Wade’s new chapter as the Liberty’s Director of Player Development

Wade’s unique rise throughout the WNBA and player development space has been well documented. Before he became a Washington basketball mainstay, he developed his own basketball analytics company called Prism Basketball, which aimed to educate and give Division III college programs more opportunities to use advanced analytics. He also blogged for Fansided’s Washington Wizards blog Wiz of Awes, where he also brought an analytic mind to analyze the team’s 3-point shooting and potential trade scenarios. 

His passion and abilities stood out and in October of 2019 he was hired to work as a video coordinator for the Wizards’ G League team the Capital City Go-Go. He worked both in and around the Go-Go and then eventually for the Mystics coordinating player film work and assisting with player development until he landed full time just with the Mystics in April of 2022. 

Under the tutelage of Mike and Eric Thibault and long time player development coach Sefu Bernard, Wade became a voice that players on the Mystics trusted. In particular he played a hand in the late season production that Emily Engstler provided off the Mystics bench which included 5 games of double-digit scoring over the final month of the 2024 regular season. 

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Under the Thibaults, the Mystics became an organization with a reputation tied to player development. Wade recently gave a presentation for the basketball educational service Basketball Immersion, where he explained what “vitamins” are. He explained how Eric and Bernard implemented the “vitamins” practice routine that allows for players to hone in on specific and “intentional skill or technique work” prior to a practice. 

“It’s a technique that is designed to mentally and physically prep each player for the theme of practice,” he said. 

How exactly did Wade end up in New York after previously alluding to staying with the Mystics?  And what is the vision that Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb and head coach Sandy Brondello sold him on leaving the city that helped him build his career?

Wade told The Next that there were a couple of other WNBA teams that were interested in adding him to their staffs, but he really had his eyes on returning to Washington even without the Thibaults running the Mystics following their firing this past October. 

“I’ve got a great relationship with all the players there, and the situation that we were building, and that didn’t work out for whatever reason,” Wade said. “And thankfully, New York called a few days later.”

Wade chatted extensively with Kolb, Brondello and New York top assistant Olaf Lange. He had always admired the Liberty’s top basketball operations decision makers from afar, and after many conversations it felt “like home.” He appreciated New York’s winning culture and was really motivated by the prospect of helping the Liberty pursue another championship.

When it comes to the vision for Wade’s role, he will oversee all of the players’ development plans throughout the regular and postseason. He’s going to help players create their own player development plans beginning in training camp and will be responsible for checking in throughout the season. 

“I’ve got my ideas, which we’ll kind of share with the group and map out further,” he said. “But just continual check-ins with the players on their development plans.” 

In particular, Wade wants to make sure that when players come off the bench and their numbers are called, they are ready to implement the skills they’ve been working on with him. 

Previously Brian Lankton, the Liberty’s head video coordinator, would assist in the Liberty’s player development efforts in addition to Lange, but now Wade’s support can help advance that work during what’s typically a tight and compressed WNBA season. Lankton will remain in his role. 

Wade credits Unrivaled for the opportunity to show his coaching abilities on a more public scale. TNT’s broadcast allows for viewers to hear what goes on in coach-led huddles, and as a result, other coaches have reached out and commented on how they appreciate the way he communicates with players. That all played a role in his new move to New York. 

Wade won’t be the only newcomer to the Liberty’s growing basketball operations staff. Former Memphis Grizzlies assistant Sonia Raman will be joining the Liberty as well. Both Wade and Raman have spent some time getting to know the Liberty’s staff in group calls over last few weeks. Raman and Wade have also bonded over trying to figure out where they are going to live in downtown Brooklyn.

“There’s just a ton of diversity in thought on this staff,” Wade said. “And so we all come from different backgrounds, which is pretty exciting. So we’re all able to kind of combine those ideas and put the best product forward.” 

While New York’s offseason acquisitions haven’t been the most flashy, they might prove to be more valuable down the line. While the picture of the 2025 roster on the court isn’t yet complete, on the bench, there’s been a concerted effort to add more human capital to what was already a championship level coaching staff. 

The Liberty want to be ready for the high competition that comes their way as they defend their title. In 2025 they will be the hunted more than ever. Adding Wade in addition to Raman ensures that they have a robust amount of personnel who can help counter the challenges other teams throw at them.