Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Has Reemerged at Just the Right Time for the Liberty

Sunday was the New York forward’s best outing since having knee surgery in July, a breakthrough that helped even up the WNBA Finals.

Laney-Hamilton’s 20 points tied her season high and surpassed what she had done in any game since her surgery. / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton declined to share how she felt physically after Game 2 of the WNBA Finals. As the New York Liberty guard/forward has fought her way back from knee surgery over the last two months, every day has brought challenges in an uneven, occasionally frustrating recovery. But she was happy to share how she felt emotionally.

“This felt really good,” she said with a smile. “I’ve been struggling physically, you know, as I’ve been going through everything, so to see a glimpse of what I’m capable of—it felt really good.”

It was hard to imagine her performance could have possibly felt otherwise. Laney-Hamilton scored 20 points—tying her season high and surpassing what she had done in any game since her surgery—to seal an 80–66 win for the Liberty over the Minnesota Lynx. The victory tied the best-of-five Finals at 1–1 after a historic collapse by New York in Game 1. And it represented what felt like a breakthrough for Laney-Hamilton. She missed 12 games this year around a procedure to remove loose bodies in her right knee during the Olympic break in July. Her teammates have watched as she has gutted through a difficult recovery, generally keeping her spot in the starting lineup, even as she has dealt with pain and limited mobility. They have said they knew she could bring a vintage performance like this. They were rewarded with it when they needed it most on Sunday. 

“What B brings is this grit,” said Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, who offered a characteristically well-rounded performance with 21 points, eight rebounds, seven steals and five assists. “All of us know that 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—that’s what we’re used to. We know she can do this.”

Much of Sunday afternoon felt like a callback to Game 1. Once again, New York went up by double digits early, and once again, it watched that lead slip away in the fourth quarter. A fast-moving offense in the first half started to stagnate and stall out. But this edition had a different ending. Stewart asserted her will, making her presence felt all over the floor, trying to rewrite her disappointing performance in the clutch in Game 1. (Three of her Finals-record seven steals came in the fourth quarter alone.) Her teammates stepped it up alongside her. Rather than crumbling against Minnesota’s late push, New York slammed the door shut with a 12–0 run to end the game. 

That stretch began with a three-pointer from the corner with three minutes remaining from Laney-Hamilton. This has traditionally been among her favorite areas of the floor: She has never overwhelmed with volume from beyond the arc, but she has a knack for picking her spots, and this is one of them. It was all hers in the fourth quarter on Sunday, a lead of two points became five, and there was no looking back for New York.

“A corner three for B is a layup,” said Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, who assisted on the basket. “She shoots that at a high clip and really well.”

BIG B AND THE B STANDS FOR BUCKETSSS 🪣

👑🐝 @BetnijahLaney | #LIGHTITUPNYL pic.twitter.com/TW9863BVKE

— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) October 13, 2024

Ionescu and Laney-Hamilton are the longest tenured members of this roster. This is not to say their tenures are particularly long: Ionescu was drafted with the No. 1 pick in 2020, the focal point of a rebuild, and Laney-Hamilton signed in ’21. The team has turned over almost completely since then. Under new free agency rules and significant investment from owners Joe and Clara Wu Tsai, it became the first true superteam in the WNBA, built almost completely fresh in the last two seasons. And those new teammates have fostered a particular fondness for Laney-Hamilton. A second-round draft pick who tore her ACL in her sophomore season in the WNBA, she cycled through five teams in her first six full seasons in the league, trying to find a space where she could grow. She found that at last in New York, where she has managed to stick on the roster through all the changes in recent years, upgrading her play and shifting her role as the squad has gone from one of the worst in the league to its very best. 

So the group surrounded her with hugs after her big night. Laney-Hamilton shared what she called a “private moment” with reserve forward Kayla Thornton, who has become among her closest friends on the roster, and she embraced center Jonquel Jones, who has poured into her throughout her injury and recovery. This kind of performance from Laney-Hamilton was emotional for all of them. And it was also very much needed as New York tries to crack a difficult match-up with Minnesota.

“It’s great that you put the ball in her hand and be more of a playmaker, because it takes a little bit more pressure off these two,” said Liberty coach Sandy Brondello, gesturing to Stewart and Ionescu, the pair seated on either side of her. “I thought that was very effective for us. But her defense, she was everywhere. She was guarding everyone. I’m really happy for her.”

Laney-Hamilton has not been on a formal minutes restriction since making her way back into the starting lineup in September. But her playing time has fluctuated as she has worked to regain her form. She played 32 minutes on Sunday, a number she had previously reached just once since her surgery, and she looked as mobile on the floor as she had at any point in weeks. 

That was a striking contrast from just a few days prior. Laney-Hamilton was not on the floor for the crucial final defensive possession in Game 1. It was a conspicuous absence for one of the Liberty's best on-ball defenders and a two-time All-Defensive selection. (Minnesota took its first lead of the game on that play and ultimately went on to win in overtime.) When asked about the decision not to play her, Brondello said it was a matter of how the guard was doing physically that late in the game. “B wasn’t moving very good, I think you saw that,” Brondello said. The coach declined to give further information about her condition but suggested that she was still meaningfully limited. 

“Look, she’s playing,” Brondello said at practice on Saturday. “She’s giving whatever she can. I think everyone sees that she’s trying. It’s not the same B that we’ve seen all season long, but it is what it is.”

In Game 2, finally, it was something else.