The New York Liberty is set to welcome back two-way standout Betnijah Laney-Hamilton after a prolonged quarantine.
BROOKLYN—No matter what transpires in its preseason opener on Saturday afternoon, the New York Liberty can at least take solace in the fact that Betnijah Laney-Hamilton literally hasn’t lost a step.
Photo: Courtesy New York Libety
The WNBA veteran and 2024 champion was the face—and feet—behind the reveal of the team’s “Court Origin” aesthetic package, headlined by the showcase of a throwback uniform harkening back to the Liberty’s original threads worn during the maiden voyage for both the league and franchise in 1997.
Laney-Hamilton’s heels met the hooves of the Liberty’s mastodon mascot Ellie the Elephant, the two dancing to the Liberty’s musical game day staple “Gotta Get Up” in a bedroom set yanked from the 90s. Despite the somewhat elaborate choreography, the often-stoic Laney-Hamilton labeled herself a “one-take wonder,” giving her plenty of time to get back to preparing for New York’s Saturday preseason opener against the Indiana Fever (3 p.m. ET, Ion).
“Honestly, we were a one-take wonder, got out there and did it,” Laney-Hamilton said after a Friday practice session. “I think it was very nostalgic. The setup was amazing, just seeing all of the vintage things, it was really fun. I haven’t seen the video yet, so I hope it’s pretty good. So I was just happy to be a part of that, because, again, I love it, and I’ve been asking for these old colors for a while now. So the fact that this is happening is great. I’m super excited for everybody.”
Busy Bee is Back in Brooklyn
It would appear that Laney-Hamilton is letting no opportunity to wear the Liberty’s familiar shades of seafoam go to waste after last season—or lack thereof.
The Liberty’s original postseason title defense no doubt missed her services after knee injuries ended her fifth tour of Brooklyn before it ever began. Laney-Hamilton, 32, signed on for a sixth through a one-year deal inked during the free agency fastbreak that also sent Satou Sabally east and heralded the return of headlining trio Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones, and Breanna Stewart. Saturday will mark the first time that Laney-Hamilton’s sneakers have touched the primary Barclays Center court since the Game 5 clincher of the 2024 WNBA Finals.
With new depth stars filtering in and out of the lineup and head coach Chris DeMarco making his unofficial debut at the Brooklyn helm, the Liberty fully expects things to get a little messy on Saturday. Based on practice observations at Barclays Center in the lead-in, Laney-Hamilton is making up for lost time in the vocal department to at least partially streamline the expected sloppiness.
Amidst the squeaking of sneakers, the calling of coaches, and the post-ups of the practice squad, Laney-Hamilton’s voice almost never stops echoing through the enclosed space of Barclays Center’s downstairs practice courts.
B on the B
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton breaks it down#WNBA #LightItUpNYL pic.twitter.com/sjE811NwSs
— Geoff Magliocchetti (@GeoffJMags) April 24, 2026
“Watching a lot of her and her game, I know what she brings defensively, I know about her ability to shoot the ball. I probably didn’t know about the leadership piece,” DeMarco lauded. “I think she’s been super vocal and it’s contagious. She’s making sure [when] the drills that are lacking a little bit of energy, she’ll bring us back up. That’s the piece I’ve been really impressed with.”
The continued gratitude of a professional gift notwithstanding, it’s not hard to see why Laney-Hamilton’s tenacity (which Sabally is grateful to have on her side for a change after several contentious battles between the Liberty and Dallas Wings) continues to last.
By conventional standards, she probably should’ve never made it this far, being a second-round pick in the 2015 draft. To put it in perspective, all but four of the 19 names picked after her in that draft never took the floor in a WNBA game and she’s the only second rounder from the class currently signed to an active league roster.
“I’m super excited to get back out there,” Laney-Hamilton said. “I think the [biggest] thing is to just to go out there, have fun. I’m not too focused or worried about anything. I know that I’ve put in the work to be out there and I’m just taking it as a another game, another opportunity to just go out there and do what I do.”
The New B’s No Newbie
Laney-Hamilton won’t be the only one making her unofficial WNBA return on Saturday in Brooklyn: whatever minutes she gets will likely be spent trailing face of the league Caitlin Clark, who endured an injury-riddled sophomore campaign.
Laney-Hamilton proved to be a vaccine for the Fever star in her rookie tours (25 percent from three in four debut showing) and her absence was particularly noticeable when Clark broke out for 32 points, most of them coming on seven three-pointers, in an emphatic win over the Liberty in Indianapolis last June.
With both women likely facing minutes ceilings, however, Laney-Hamilton has a prime opportunity to make a good first impression on the new coaching staff, as well as connect with new and old teammates alike. The training camp process has created a throwback atmosphere in more ways than one: the Liberty roster partly resembles the one Laney-Hamilton joined in 2021, as Rebecca Allen, Han Xu, and the injured DiDi Richards join her and Ionescu from the franchise’s maiden Brooklyn voyage.
While the names in the program look familiar, Laney-Hamilton warned her presumably adoring public that things may be a little different after a year off: the 2021 All-Star thanked one reporter for noticing her strengthened back and stated that her time off allowed her to further improve her conditioning.
It’ll be intriguing to see how much further that takes Laney-Hamilton, who has played at least 30 minutes a game in four of her last five seasons. Last season, only six players aged at at least 32 reached that timed landmark but Laney-Hamilton is well-determined to join them.
“I think I had a lot of time, a lot of time right to just really work on all the things that I wasn’t able to work on before,” Laney-Hamilton said. “I really took this time to just try and focus on all of the little things, all of the things that will help take me over, where I can’t just rely on my natural physicality. I’m just trying to do whatever it is that I can and need to do to just be that much better and get back out there.”
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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