Betnijah Laney-Hamilton's participation—or lack thereof—has been one of the major subplots of this rollercoaster New York Liberty season.
BROOKLYN—What do you get the fans who have everything? More.
"The Summer of George" has nothing on the summer of New York basketball fans in 2026, some of whom are still nursing the euphoria brought about by their Knicks claiming the most recent NBA title. The Knicks' estranged ex-siblings, the New York Liberty, kept the championship vibes by claiming in-season glory in the Commissioner's Cup final, a victory earned against fallen metropolitan heroine Becky Hammon and the Las Vegas Aces.
Vengeance and victory, however, has not been enough for Liberty fans.
The immediate follow-up to the Commissioner's Cup triumph over the Aces was a date with the league-leading Minnesota Lynx, one that Liberty handily handled by a 99-86 final on Friday night at Barclays Center. But as New York completed one of its most, if not the most, complete effort of the season, those gathered on Atlantic Avenue couldn't help but notice that someone was missing from the proceedings, offering a chant of "We Want Laney!" as their seafoam savants inflated their lead against their former Finals foes.
Ham It Up
Such a surname, of course, refers to Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who just barely trails Sabrina Ionescu for the title of longest-tenured Liberty torchbearer.
Laney-Hamilton hold a permanent place on the franchise ledgers: she launched the Liberty's full-time Brooklyn era with eight consecutive 20-point games and a similar output helped change the course of the aforementioned 2024 Finals, one that saw her put up 21 points and seven steals in a Game 2 equalizer following a collapse in the opener.
"All of us know she's giving us whatever she's got, and the way that she continued to be aggressive ... that's what we're used to," Stewart said of Laney-Hamilton during that run to the Finals. "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."
The streets of Laney-Hamilton dealt with a few potholes since then: having already required a knee procedure during the 2024 title run, similar issues resurfaced during her cameo in the inaugural run of Unrivaled, the domestic three-on-three league co-founded by Stewart. Another procedure kept her out of the entire 2025 Liberty season, which saw them lack a sense of defensive that marred their first postseason championship defense.
New York re-upped with Laney-Hamilton on a one-year deal in this spring's speedy free agency frenzy. She joined a packed depth chart that was already welcoming in Satou Sabally in addition to the return of the "big three" consisting of Ionescu, Stewart, and Jonquel Jones. The similarly-skilled Leonie Fiebich likewise returned to the premier set.
The Red Knight
It has been another on-and-off season for the Rutgers alumna Laney-Hamilton, who missed some of the early portions of this Liberty season due to a personal matter. Further work on her knee has also been required as the Liberty seeks to atone for last season's Laney-less first-round exit.
The interruptions have cornered her into some uncharacteristic numbers (4.9 points, 1.9 rebounds in just over 17 minutes a game and her first triple-digit defensive rating since 2021) but the most valuable metric probably doesn't lie: New York (13-9) has an 11-4 record when Laney-Hamilton's sneakers touch the floor this season.
That made a bit perplexing to see a healthy Laney-Hamilton, who said she's "physically ... feel[ing] better than [she's] felt in a long time," stuck on the bench during New York's back-to-back wins over Las Vegas and Minnesota. It was the third time since summer tipped off that Laney-Hamilton was on the bench without an injury designation, having also sat during a June 21 game in Los Angeles.
Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco cited rotation-tightening for the departures while professing a continued faith in the veteran, whom he referred to as a "great player in this league" during pregame comments when the Liberty faced the Dallas Wings on Tuesday.
Despite the absences, Laney-Hamilton has remained in character, with Rebekah Gardner noting that she remained a "vocal leader" in absentia in the aftermath of Tuesday's game. Longtime collaborator Ionescu, never one for nostalgics, basked in the appreciation fans bestowed on her tenured teammates Laney-Hamilton and Rebecca Allen. The latter has likewise struggled to stick in the rotation in a return to her previous home of New York but was a team-best plus-7 in a brief comeback effort that ended when she took an uncalled Jessica Shepard elbow to the nose.
"I think when you're able to have really good relationships with players who have been here for a while, it's nice to share it," Ionescu said. "You're able to talk about experiences you've had, wins, losses in the locker room. It's kind of all a part of the journey, one where we're in a New York Liberty jersey, so I was really happy for them. They came in, gave us huge minutes and it's been fun. You look back at pictures, we're all really young, like in 21, 22, 23. It's cool to see, you know, both of them kind of get their flowers."
More for 44?
Laney-Hamilton addressed her absences prior to the Liberty's Tuesday tilt, offering gratitude for the fans who chanted for her inclusion. Her commitment to the seafoam process should be no surprise to the lasting fans that came over from the Manhattan tenure, as well as those she helped win over in The Borough of Churches.
"I don't have a lot of words, but just really, thank you," she said. "I really do appreciate it, I worked really hard to come back and to be in this position. To have them continue to, you know, push for me, fight for me. It really means a lot."
"As a competitor and everything, as somebody who's worked really hard, somebody who's been a part of the organization for a long time, it can sometimes be disappointing and frustrating. But that's also a part of the process," she continued. "I'm just trying to, as much as possible, just come out, be the best version of myself within the circumstances."
Asked if she expected to wear seafoam at year's end, Laney-Hamilton didn't have a concrete response but seemed optimistic about the possibility, at least for the time being.
"We're working on things. I don't know what everything looks like right now, I'm just trying to take everything one step at a time and just stay in the moment. It's been difficult, but today, right now, I feel pretty good. I just want to want to be able to focus on the game, go out there, do what I do, at least for the fans, for my teammates, all the things."
Return of the Bet-ni
New York was unable to keep its streak alive in an 88-77 defeat to the Wings but local cheers summitted when Laney-Hamilton checked in with just under four minutes to go in the first quarter.
She went fruitless in five attempts from the field while contributing to a defensive effort that held headliners Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd in relative check (a combined 8-of-25 before hitting their united final three) but had no answer for dueling doubles from Shepard and Awak Kuier. The newly-minted All-Star Shepard tied Ionescu with her fourth career triple-double, scoring 22, pulling in 12, and dishing out 11.
Despite the defeat, New Yorkers like Gardner, Ionescu, and Jones couldn't help but appreciate the return of a city staple, one of the original authors of this run of active Brooklyn prosperity.
"It means a lot to have B on the floor. I think she's very aggressive whenever she's on the court," Jones, described by teammates as the New Yorker closest to Laney-Hamilton, said. "I think she does a lot for us defensively, is one of those players that can really just get out there and just guard whoever we're putting her on."
"In these last four years, she's a friend, she's someone that I can call when I'm having a tough time, and I know that she can call me whenever she's having a tough time, too," Jones continued. "We pick each other up, we just have a relationship where she has her nieces and nephews come over, we take them to the park, just little stuff like that, and it's good to sometimes just hang out with your teammate and get to know them outside of basketball."
Metropolitan eyes will continue to linger on Laney-Hamilton and the Liberty, who face a Minneapolis rematch with Lynx on Saturday afternoon (1 p.m. ET, ABC).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
