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Betnijah Laney-Hamilton has embodied New York City toughness, swag and spirit from the moment she first donned a New York Liberty jersey. That’s probably because NYC was a second home to her growing up. The Fulton Mall, Coney Island, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Broadway. Because her great aunt lived in Brooklyn, these places comprised the settings of the Delaware native’s childhood adventures in the Big Apple during holiday breaks and summers.

Laney-Hamilton would go on to attend Rutgers University, under one hour southwest of NYC, and was more than happy to call the area home again in 2021 when she signed with the Liberty.

At that point, she was coming off a Most Improved Player award-winning season in which she averaged 17.2 points per game for the Atlanta Dream, so Liberty fans were excited to have her. And she didn’t disappoint, becoming the best player on a team that also featured former All-Star Natasha Howard and 2020 No. 1 draft pick Sabrina Ionescu. She made the All-Star Game and scored 25 points in an opening-round playoff contest that saw New York nearly defeat the eventual Finals runner-up Phoenix Mercury.

Observers could tell that Laney-Hamilton put the city on her back in 2021 and embodied its vibe. She was a New York hero and fan favorite, and still is, though her status is no longer talked about as much, as it has been blurred by all the other talent the Liberty have since added: two-time MVP Breanna Stewart, MVP Jonquel Jones and arguably the greatest passer in league history in Courtney Vandersloot.

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On the 2024 team that is headed to its second-straight WNBA Finals, Laney-Hamilton is the second-longest tenured Liberty, behind only Ionescu. Some of the individual storylines entering the Finals are: Can Stewart add to her GOAT case with a third championship and first with her new, home-state team after being the most coveted free agent ever? Can Ionescu fulfill her draft hype with her first college or pro title after coming close at Oregon?Can Jones finally win a championship after losing a competitive Finals in 2019 and another in 2022, both with the Connecticut Sun?

Yet, Laney-Hamilton potentially winning a title for a city and a fan base that she has meant so much to and that have meant so much to her is a compelling plot to follow as well.

Laney-Hamilton has been at her best when it matters most

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

But, as compelling as it is, Laney-Hamilton has been playing far below her standard in the 2024 playoffs.

She scored 10 points in Game 1 of the first round against the Dream, but it’s been all single digits since. She’s shooting 29.2 percent from the field and 15 percent from 3, and is averaging just six points per game (sixth on the team). She hit a new low in New York’s semifinal series-clinching win Sunday afternoon with just two points on 1-for-7 shooting, including 0-for-2 from downtown.

By comparison, Laney-Hamilton was the Liberty’s fourth-leading scorer in the regular season at 11.8 points per contest. She shot 45.6 percent from the field and a phenomenal 40.2 percent from deep with 1.5 treys per outing. Her plus/minus average in the regular season was a league-leading and career-best 9.7, but is now 0.2 in the playoffs, easily the lowest among the New York starters.

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Laney-Hamilton put up the numbers we’d expect from a star in the regular season, with her scoring average understandably being on the low side given the amazing offensive talent that surrounds her. She delivered in the 2023 regular season as well, with 12.8 points per game during the first season of New York’s super team experiment. And in the past, she has delivered in the postseason.

In 14 playoff games with the Liberty prior to this season, she only had two duds in the scoring column; the rest were double-digit outings. Of the 12 double-digit performances, only one featured a sub-44.4 percent effort from the field (it was 26.7 percent on 4-for-15 shooting). Save for one pre-Liberty playoff game in 2015 in which she played just two minutes with zero points, Laney-Hamilton was averaging 15.1 points per game in the playoffs entering 2024. She was shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from beyond the arc. All much better than her 2024 numbers, and pretty dang good for anyone.

In the 2023 playoffs, which is the best comparison to this year given her similar role on a super team, she scored 19 points in both first-round games against the Washington Mystics while shooting 53.1 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3 with four makes. She went on to average 20.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and four assists over the final three of four semifinal games, including 52.3 percent shooting from the field and 52.6 percent shooting from downtown with 10 makes. In her first Finals, she cooled off to 45.5 percent from the field and 25 percent from deep, but scored in double figures in all four contests, including dropping 15 in Game 4 to go along with four dimes.

Can Laney-Hamilton (who underwent a minor knee surgery in July, missing 12 regular-season games before and after the procedure) regain her playoff prowess in the 2024 Finals? Do the Liberty even need her to?

Can Queen B help NY win the crown?

This postseason, Leonie Fiebich has replaced Laney-Hamilton as the team’s fourth-leading scorer, averaging 10.5 points per game and shooting an incredible 59.1 percent from 3 with 2.2 makes per game. Fiebich’s plus/minus average is a team-best 12.5. She is the x-factor driving New York’s success. With her performing the way she is, and with Stewart and Ionescu hovering around 20 points per game and Jones averaging close to a double-double in points and rebounds, the Liberty have won three games comfortably, won two close ones and suffered just one loss. And they just conquered a Las Vegas Aces team that was the most talented and battle-tested in the league. Perhaps the Finals against the Minnesota Lynx will be an easier task, and perhaps New York can win without Laney-Hamilton improving her play.

Photo by David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images

However, just because the Aces are more formidable in many respects, doesn’t mean that Minnesota won’t give the Liberty more of a battle than Vegas did—underdogs sometimes thrive in the big moments. And Fiebich is likely to cool off at some point, while Ionsecu could suffer another four-point night like she did in New York’s Game 3 loss to the Aces. In that scenario, Laney-Hamilton surely would like to put forth a better showing than seven points on 2-for-8 shooting to pick up the slack for a struggling teammate. Not to mention the fact that Jones has gotten herself into foul trouble two games in a row and the Liberty may need Queen B to step up for that reason.

We shall see if Laney-Hamilton, the ride-or-die hero who scrapped for the Liberty when they were a No. 8 and No. 7 seed in 2021 and 2022, respectively, will be a key factor in the 2024 Finals. If she is and it contributes to the Liberty winning their first championship, it will certainly mean a lot to the kid who formed lasting family memories walking along the boardwalk at Coney Island, in the same New York borough the Liberty now call home.

It will mean she, her teammates and Alicia Keys can keep on singing, “Concrete jungle where dreams are made of / There’s nothing you can’t do / Now you’re in New York!”