Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Missed in Liberty's Title Defense

"Bee, over the last few years, has played a key role for us," Brondello, cheekily claiming she "wasn't warmed up" prior to the knockout clash said. "I think what we miss is her ability to get buckets when we need it, whether it's posting up smaller defenders, whether it's going one on one, she's got a really nifty pull-up game and pick-and-roll. Then defensively, her toughness, her full-court pickups. There's a lot, she did a lot of great things for us, be. But she's rehabbing hard and getting back healthy, so I'm excited to see her when she's fully fit again."

Laney-Hamilton's season-long ailment has ensured that the Liberty will never play a game at full strength this year, even as they slowly but surely inch back to the roster that won each of its first nine games while she was sidelined. Nonetheless, she has taken on a more active presence as the season has gone on, joining the team on the bench for select games and accompanying them on certain road trips.

The Liberty reps that Laney-Hamilton left behind have mostly confined the conversation about their ongoing postseason chase to themselves, especially when it comes to the mistakes that have created a relative freefall on the WNBA playoff bracket. Even so, Laney-Hamilton's absence has become more glaring as the spotlight gets brighter and the playoffs loom, forcing power plays such as expanding the rotation and making rare in-season additions, such as those of Emma Meesseman and Stephanie Talbot.

Along with Sabrina Ionescu, Laney-Hamilton is a rare holdover from the Liberty's "hybrid rebuild" era, the developmental stage of this active era of contention where the duo dragged New York back into the WNBA postseason kicking and screaming. When downright historic talents (i.e. Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot) entered the fold, Laney-Hamilton took a slight, if not noticeable, backseat in the grand scheme of things, as she was no longer required to score 20 points and throw her body around in the paint on an excessive basis.

While Laney-Hamilton clinics still emerged on prominent platforms (such as a 20-point showing that knotted the 2024 Finals after Game 1's harrowing collapse), she was frequently praised for defining the sense of sacrifice required on the path to a title.

"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 lauded last fall. "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."

Muted Laney-Hamilton, however, still packs an emphatic statement, one the Liberty has sorely missed in the battle for the hardest possessions. Nearly three-quarters of the league, including the Liberty, has played 40 games, which constituted a full season last year and gives a fair perspective on where the team misses the tenured Laney-Hamilton, who reached several statistical landmarks in more downplayed categories despite a relatively pedestrian 11.8 points a game.

Nonetheless, the mental aspect of Laney-Hamilton's lingering presence shouldn't be ignored: after all, if anyone in Brooklyn needs a championship pick-me-up, the Rutgers regent is by far the perfect story, rising from the ranks of the late draft arrivals to become an All-Star and reliable championship contributor.

"To have Bee back [has been] really cool, just having her presence checking in, knowing that she cares a lot about this group," Stewart said after Laney-Hamilton's practice floor cameo. "We care about her getting back healthy and strong. So it's just like a breath of fresh air coming in and bringing some positivity and uplifting people when when it's been a little rocky."