Liberty Year In Review 2024: Betnijah Laney-Hamilton

Despite a few bumps and bruises along the way, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton played a major role in the New York Liberty's title quest.

Geoff Magliocchetti | Dec 30, 2024

Oct 18, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; New York Liberty forward Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (44) drives past Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams (10) during the second half of game four of the 2024 WNBA Finals at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

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New York Liberty

After 27 years, 40 games, 12 more playoff contests, and even a fateful overtime period, the New York Liberty finally stand as WNBA champions.

New York earned its first postseason WNBA title with a five-game series victory over the Minnesota Lynx earlier this fall, capping off a monumental season for the WNBA. For now, the championship serves as a culmination of a long-gestating plan put forth by Liberty leadership, one that brought home the first basketball team honor to the city in over five decades.

The Liberty’s path to a repeat comes at an exciting if not turbulent time on the WNBA timeline: rosters are set to endure tremors caused by expansion drafts, free agency, and upcoming collective bargaining agreement discussions.

With the season itself gone — but the memories never fading —Knicks on SI looks back at a victorious season that was and what’s ahead for the Liberty on a case-by-case basis.

2024 Year In Review: Betnijah Laney-Hamilton

Name: Betnijah Laney-Hamilton
Season: 9th (4th with Liberty)
Key Stats: 11.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 94.1 defensive rating

How It Started

It's hard to pinpoint exactly when the Liberty's run to prosperity began but Laney-Hamilton's arrival has stood the test of time and goes down as one of the most vital chapters to date.

While the Liberty bided time in the Bradenton bubble, Laney-Hamilton made a name for herself with the Atlanta Dream, enjoying a breakout campaign that gestated over several years of journeywomen roles. She more or less became the face of the Liberty's "hybrid rebuild" era, keeping the team at the cusp of contention while Sabrina Ionescu found her professional footing.

Of note, Laney-Hamilton reached 20 points in each of her first eight games as a New Yorker, tipping off the team's official Brooklyn era with 30 in front of 1,139 fans at Barclays Center that witnessed a last-second win over Indiana. Laney-Hamilton repped the Liberty at the 2021 All-Star Game and help push New York to the tail end of the 2021 postseason, which saw her score 25 points in a narrow single-game loss to a Phoenix group coached by future boss Sandy Brondello.

Injuries ate away at Laney-Hamilton's 2022 campaign, which saw her limited to nine games in the year before the fruits of her and Ionescu's labor yielded Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, and Courtney Vandersloot. It was no secret, even if it was unspoken, that Laney-Hamilton's offensive role would shrink but she made up for it and then some by showcasing an expanded two-way game, posting a net rating of 12.1 as she partook in all 40 games last year.

Before the Liberty began their run to the Finals, Laney-Hamilton earned herself a multi-year contract extension that shut down questions about her immediate future considering she was perhaps the most attractive asset on the roster following the splurge for Jones, Stewart, and Vandersloot.

How It Went

Laney-Hamilton began to get back some of her lost offensive prowess at the start of the season, which came in handy while Stewart went through some early struggles. She opened the year with a 20-point showing in the Liberty's season-opening win in Washington and averaged 12.7 points and 4.5 rebounds over the first 18 games.

The improved defense, as well as the departure of Stef Dolson, led Laney-Hamilton to pick up the top defensive assignment on a more consistent basis. She responded brilliantly to the tune of a 92.3 defensive rating, good for seventh among women playing 30 minutes a game. In that same department, she topped all players in net, leading a clean Liberty sweep of the top four.

Following a July 6 loss in Indiana, however, Laney-Hamilton's knee became, as Brondello described it, "puffy," leading to some late absences before the All-Star/Olympic break, which allowed the two sides to be patient and prudent in the form of a procedure. Fortunately for the Liberty, the rise of Leonie Fiebich allowed them to tread water and then some while Laney-Hamilton recovered, keeping up the strong defensive tone she established.

Even with the procedure, Laney-Hamilton dealt with nagging, lingering pain for the rest of the season, but she nonetheless continued to take the floor. In a marginally reduced role, Laney-Hamilton powered through to post a net rating of 10.9 from Aug. 26 through the end of the season, one of only nine women to pull off the feat over the final stages of the season (min. 25 minutes/game). She continued to draw the top opposing assignment, an endeavor that continued into the last New York playoff run.

Finest Hour

It was only appropriate that Laney-Hamilton played a major role in the title that New York sought to gain upon her addition and her metropolitan magnum opus couldn't have come at a better time, namely Game 2 of the WNBA Finals against the Minnesota Lynx.

With the Liberty reeling from a dire defeat in the opener, the usual seafoam suspect needed to step up. A vintage offensive performance from Laney-Hamilton--one that witnessed by nearly 20 times the crowd that was on hand for debut--paved the way for a one-sided New York win that changed the course of the series.

Laney-Hamilton scored 20 points, most of it coming from a 5-of-6 effort in the first half, to build a lead that the bearers of seafoam would never relinquish en route to an 80-66 final. The win allowed New York to salvage the home set after their collapse in Game 1 and Ionescu returned Laney-Hamilton's favor with a buzzer-beating triple in Game 3 at Target Center.

They Said It

"The fans, they've been sticking out with us, and we just been continuing to grow and grow and grow. I was here the first season that we were in Barclays, and, you know, due to COVID restrictions and just the placement of the team, we didn't have this crowd. But people continue to stick with us, and then we continue to grow. We owe it to them to go out and just give it our all."-Laney-Hamilton on the importance on playing and winning in New York

"I think what B brings is this grit, this toughness. 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. We know she can do this and happy to see her get into a good rhythm with everything that's been up and down this season and know that she's a big factor in everything we do."-Breanna Stewart

What's Next

Laney-Hamilton now has an offseason to recover, which should be a night mare for her opponents--no matter where they reside.

As it stands, Laney-Hamilton is the most covetable asset (at least among those with names, considering they own the No. 7 pick in the year's draft) on the Liberty roster, and that idea only heightens with Kayla Thornton already gone in the expansion draft. Some New Yorkers may have already warmed themselves to the idea of trading for Dallas' Satou Sabally, staging a University of Oregon reunion with her sister Nyara and Ionescu.

But there's no indication that the Liberty plan to use Laney-Hamilton in that fashion and she gives Brooklyn one of the most unique advantages in the WNBA. The relieving of certain duties has only increased Laney-Hamilton's workload further and management remains appreciative. Anyone inquiring for her service, no matter how hypothetical, better have an immaculate deal.