Here’s the good news: You will not remember Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s New York Liberty tenure by its finale. When Laney-Hamilton is inevitably inducted into the Liberty Ring of Honor, 16,000 zealous fans will pour their hearts out for her, only right for a player who helped create one of the best environments in pro sports.
Many of those fans will remember Laney-Hamilton’s 2021 season, her first with the Libs and the team’s first in Barclays Center. The reigning Most Improved Player made her first All-Star
game, then led the team with 25 points and a cold-blooded, game-tying triple in the final seconds of New York’s near-upset of the Phoenix Mercury in the first round of the WNBA Playoffs, the most important Liberty game in half-a-decade. New York didn’t just escape the league’s basement with Betnijah, they were relevant!
All of those 16,000 fans will remember what followed. Sabrina Ionescu became the player she was destined to become and the team acquired some of the best basketball players on the planet, turning into more than a good basketball team. A Liberty game was now an NYC Place To Be, in summertime no less. Outsiders may read that as schlocky New York Exceptionalism, but we recognize these cultural moments as the reason we tolerate rats and mobbed subway cars.
Betnijah played a huge role in creating that moment, just as she played a huge role in the Liberty’s on-court success. The Indiana Fever cut her from training camp and one year she was giving them 30 points as a primary option; two years after that, she was back to playing a lower usage 3-and-D role next to Ionescu, Courtney Vandersloot, Breanna Stewart, and Jonquel Jones. But she figured it out…
Betnijah continued to battle knee injuries, but fought through them to help bring the Liberty their first championship in franchise history in 2024. During that run, I asked her how she was dealing with her knees, and she said, “I take a lot of Tylenol. If I’m gonna be out there, I can’t focus on my knee. It’s one of those things where it’s never gonna feel great, but it’s good enough to be able to go and do what I can.”
Following a potentially era-defining loss in Game 1 of the 2024 WNBA Finals against the Minnesota Lynx, Betnijah matched her season-high with 20 points in Game 2…
A culture-setter, a champion, a fan-favorite who played tough and hard as hell every night. That is Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s legacy here. The finale sucked, though.
After missing the 2025 season with a meniscus tear, Laney-Hamilton started the first four games of 2026 and understandably did not look like herself. She then stepped away from the team for a week due to a personal matter and would only make one more start on the season. Amid a rocky season for the team, Laney-Hamilton’s lack of PT was a source of vocal frustration for the fanbase, with “We Want Laney” chants a staple at recent home games. Alas, they will not get their wish. New York released her on Thursday afternoon, signing developmental player Marine Fauthoux to a standard, multi-year contract in a corresponding move…
As part of a longer statement, GM Jonathan Kolb said that, “While this decision is incredibly difficult, we believe this will give Betnijah the best opportunity to pursue a larger basketball role.”
To me, this is the story of her season:
- Betnijah does not look anywhere close to her pre-injury self to begin the season. Her burst and mobility is noticeably hampered, and her confidence seems to take a hit as a result, passing up many catch-and-shoot opportunities. Is this is a basketball sin? Not exactly. But given her limited athleticism, it’s not something she can afford to do. In any case, she needs a runway of consistent playing time if she is going to regain her pre-injury form.
- While Betnijah is attending to her personal matter, Satou Sabally (injury) and Leonie Fiebich (overseas) join the rotation, leapfrogging her on the wing with Rebekah Gardner also playing well. However, Sabrina Ionescu is still out, and the title-favorite Liberty are sitting with an uncomfortable 3-4 record. This is clearly not a situation conducive to Betnijah playing 20+ minutes a night in search of her previous form.
- Playing time decreases; she is ultimately a healthy scratch in three straight mid-June games. This is a brutal situation for a franchise legend and a tall task for a brand-new coaching staff. When asked about it, Chris DeMarco is not giving very convincing/reassuring answers. Fans are unhappy, and clearly, so is Betnijah. The writing is on the wall.
- Suddenly, Leonie Fiebich and Satou Sabally are out again, opening up an obvious role for Betnijah Laney-Hamilton minutes, even if she’s not at her absolute peak. But the damage has already been done. New York knows they’ll be trading her, and Betnijah is ready to move on as well, so despite three July appearances, she is functionally a non-rotation player. The Liberty can’t come out and explain all this, so silence and non-answers from DeMarco only infuriate the fanbase more.
- Here’s the only surprising part of this sad story: The trade deadline comes and goes, nothing happens. It seems that rival teams do not view Betnijah as a positive asset, and that Kolb was not willing to attach enough draft capital to upgrade her roster spot. (Not to mention that $400k is a bit of an awkward salary to move, and there’s a benefit to letting Betnijah choose her landing spot anyway.)
- Thus, the Liberty just release her. It is unceremonious, it sucks, it is no way for a franchise legend to go out.
The end is not always fun. But Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s time in New York sure was.
Meanwhile, Marine Fauthoux was about to play her 12th and final permissible game on a developmental contract on Sunday. Instead, she’ll be on a standard contract through 2027. Though she’s only averaging 4.5 points per game on 56.8% true-shooting through her 11 appearances, Fauthoux’s ability to create off the dribble and shoot has been huge for New York since July began. Five years after the Liberty selected her at #29 overall in the 2021 WNBA Draft, Fauthoux gets her big break.
