This W.N.B.A. season is Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s fourth with the New York Liberty. It’s the longest the 30-year-old guard-forward has been on one team in her nine-year career.
She played college basketball at Rutgers University in New Jersey, then the Chicago Sky selected her in the second round of the 2015 W.N.B.A. draft. She traveled through the league — from Chicago to Connecticut to Indiana to Atlanta — before landing with the Liberty in 2021. Ms. Laney-Hamilton quickly became an integral part of the franchise’s rebuilding, and was named to the All-Star team in her first season in New York. Last year, the Liberty reached the W.N.B.A. finals for the first time since 2002.
Ms. Laney-Hamilton’s success with the Liberty has also allowed her to put down roots in Brooklyn. But she hasn’t embraced everything about being a New Yorker: “I don’t think I’ve taken the subway since I’ve been in New York,” she said.
Though she grew up in Delaware, Ms. Laney-Hamilton spent summers and holidays visiting her aunt in Brooklyn, who lived about five minutes away from what is now Barclays Center, where the Liberty play.
All that childhood experience with the borough has come in handy. These days, Ms. Laney-Hamilton’s 2-year-old niece frequently comes up to the city from Delaware to stay with her and explore the area’s many playgrounds.
In the off-season, Ms. Laney-Hamilton lives in Japan, where her husband, Jordan Hamilton, is a professional basketball player in the Japanese B.League. They share a two-bedroom apartment in Downtown Brooklyn.
“For me, Sundays are kind of like every day because I don’t really get a weekend,” she said. “Sometimes, I don’t even know it’s Sunday.”
FUEL If I’m home, I’ll get up and I’ll make either some coffee or tea and then I’ll make some breakfast. If I’m on the go or don’t want to eat at home, I go somewhere to eat or go to a coffee shop. But at home I have a Keurig machine, so I’ll do that, usually a vanilla-flavored coffee. I really like Yogi tea a lot, because the tea bags also have little messages on them.
For breakfast, I usually have bacon and eggs with avocado and toast. If I’m going out for breakfast, there’s a really good breakfast taco spot near me, King David Tacos, and I’ll get a bean and cheese taco. Funny thing is, I don’t really like eggs. I just eat them because they’re healthy. But at King David’s, I don’t mind their bacon, egg and cheese one with queso. And a horchata coffee.
GYM TIME Usually, we practice on Sundays. If not, I’ll get a different workout in, like Pilates. But usually it’s time to head to the facility. If I cooked at home, then I’m kind of a straggler. But for a 10 o’clock practice, I’ll usually get to the gym around 9. If we have a game, I’ll get there about two hours before and get warmed up before I go to chapel about 60 minutes before tip-off. But for a practice day, I’ll walk through the training room, because that’s usually where people are, and say hey to everybody. I then get treatment and get ready for practice, which usually lasts an hour and a half to two hours. I’m also kind of a lingerer at the gym. Even if we have a 10 a.m. practice, I could be there until 3 or 4. I’ll lift weights, eat, take an ice bath. I’m slow-moving.
RETAIL RECOVERY If my husband is home, we like to shop. We’ll head to SoHo — I really like SoHo a lot. They have a lot of good stores. I’m a wanderer — I won’t always go in with a specific game plan. But if I’m looking for a game-day outfit, I’m more of an online shopper. It’s easier to plan and look at a lot of options to build out from there. The only time I get a game-day fit from a store is if I stumble upon something. Otherwise, it can be hit or miss. But there’s good shopping and good food in SoHo. It’s got everything I need. If I’m heading over there, I’ll drive or take an Uber. I would much rather drive and deal with that than take the subway.
FAMILY TIME My 2-year-old niece will come up for weekends, but she hates to leave, so sometimes I end up keeping her for a week or so. She’s a New Yorker at heart. She really loves going to the park; we’ll go to museums, the mall — she likes Target because she likes to pick out toys.
NEIGHBORHOOD TIME I pretty much walk everywhere. I’ll walk to go get my nails done; everything is kind of within walking distance. I also like walking to different coffee shops, like Hungry Ghost and Blank Street. On Sundays, I’ll walk and pick up dinner. I’m a foodie. We’re always trying new restaurants. My husband will look things up on TikTok and we’ll go try them. But our go-to is Nenes Taqueria.
WIND DOWN We’ll put on a TV show and just relax. Lately we’ve been watching “Love Is Blind,” but we’re all over the place. I had seen parts of other seasons, but we started Season 1 together. But then when I left Japan, two days later he was like, “I’m on Season 3.” So then I just decided to watch the latest season, but we still talk about it. When we’re watching, we provide live commentary. We’ll pause it in between and discuss it. We’re usually more into crime documentaries or thriller series.
NIGHTTIME ROUTINE I’m very into skin care, and I’ve gotten my husband into it as well. So on a Sunday, I’ll do a face mask and just reset for the week. I’m a self-care kind of person — sometimes I’ll do a facial at home. I’ll either have a cup of herbal tea or a glass of wine, depending on how the day has been going. I’m in bed by 10 p.m. to make sure I’m up in time for practice the next day.
Sunday Routine readers can follow Betnijah Laney-Hamilton on Instagram @najlaney.
