After playing four successful seasons with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Betnijah Laney was selected 17^th overall in the 2015 WNBA Draft by the Chicago Sky.

 

Q: What are you excited about most in Chicago?

A: “It’s just a great city. There are a lot of different things here. Downtown is really nice, and I’m a person that loves to shop so I can go down to all the stores and everything. So that maybe one thing, besides basketball, that I’m most excited about.”

Q: Do you have any secret talents or special skills?

A: “I’m left handed. A lot of people don’t know about that. I think that I’m a model. I take lots of pictures and practice. That is my dream. Besides the WNBA, that’s what I want to do.”

Q: Who do you want to model for? Certain brand? Athletic model?

A: “I want to do it all. I want to be an athletic model, I want to be on billboards, and make-up, clothes… you name it.”

Q: What do you like to do most when you’re not playing basketball?

A: “I like to listen to music a lot. I do different things. It just depends on how I’m feeling. I don’t really have a favorite thing I like to do.”

Q: Which musical artist do you listen to?

A: “I’m pretty diverse. I listen to just about everything. Nicki Minaj. I know every song, every feature. She’s my favorite.”

Q: What is your favorite movie?

A: “Love & Basketball.”

Q: When did you start playing basketball?

A: “When I was ten.”

Q: Did you play any other sports?

A: “I used to dance. I used to do ballet, tap, and jazz. I hated basketball. I really did. I didn’t want anything to do with it. My mom [made me start] because she taught basketball to kids. She still does. I was always around it, so how could I not [play]. At first I would go in the gym and I would sit in the corner mad that I had to be in the gym. Then after a while, it was something that I started doing, and I liked it. I started seeing a little success.”

Q: Who has influenced you most in basketball?

A: “My mother. She played for Coach C. Vivian Stringer. They didn’t have the WNBA when she came out of college so she played overseas and everything. She has just always been on me making sure I was doing each and everything I had to do to have any success.”

Q: What would you say you learned most from your college experience that is going to prepare you for this first year in the WNBA?

A: “Just to stay tough. Don’t let anything get you down. There’s nothing I’m not ready for that I can’t handle right now. College has made me mentally tougher then I was prior to entering college.”

Q: What do you think will be your biggest challenge as you transition into the WNBA?

A: “Not having played in the WNBA before, becoming accustomed to the way the game is played, the different rules. I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’m sure I’m prepared for whatever is being thrown at me, but I think not really having experience in the WNBA [will be my biggest challenge.]”

Q: What are you most looking forward to about playing in the WNBA?

A: “Just being with a former Scarlet Knight in Cappie Pondexter and also a fellow Delawarean in Elena Delle Donne. Just being able to go out and show everyone what we can do and you know just the same as everyone else and win a WNBA Title.”

Q: Are there any players in the NBA or WNBA that you might model your game after?

A: “Not someone exactly, but you know there are different things that I look at that I watch. Before entering the WNBA, I really admired Cappie’s game and her as a person. When I was younger, she was someone I always looked up to, and in the NBA, Chris Paul. I love Chris Paul. He is my favorite player.

Q: How do you prepare for games?

A: “[During the day] I listen to music to get me going and get me pumped up. [Between shoot around and the game] I nap. Before every game, I pray. I pray once in the locker room and once on the court.”

Q: What are some of your top goals this season?

A: “To come in and be an impact for the team, and do each and everything that the coaches ask me to do.”

Q: What city are you most excited to travel to and play in?

A: “Los Angeles because I’ve never been there, and I have always wanted to go.”

 

You can follow Betnijah Laney on Instagram @najlaney, and you can catch her and the rest of the Chicago Sky on June 24^th as they take on the Atlanta Dream at Allstate Arena. For tickets call 866.SKY.WNBA.