Betnijah Laney-Hamilton

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton: A Brief Biography

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton is a professional WNBA player for the New York Liberty. She attended Rutgers University and played college basketball for the school; she was a defensive specialist. Laney was selected 17th overall in the 2015 WNBA Draft by the Chicago Sky team. However, her second season with the Sky was not as successful as the first one as she also had a season-ending knee injury against the Washington Mystics. However, Laney-Hamilton rose up to the challenge and signed for Indiana Fever in 2018 before joining the Atlanta Dream where she was named the WNBA Most Improved Player in 2020.

Laney-Hamilton signed for the New York Liberty in 2021 and has been a valuable asset to the team. She was named a WNBA All-Star. Laney-Hamilton is not only a great shooter, but also a team player and a defender and was awarded to the All-WNBA Defensive Team in 2020.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Early Life

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was born on the 29th of October, 1993 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her love for basketball festered at the age of 10, due to her mother, Yolanda Laney who played basketball at Cheyney State and was coached by C. Vivian Stringer. Betnijah grew up in a family that loved basketball and this influenced her to take up the sport in future. She was a student at the Smyrna High School in Smyrna, Delaware and she was very popular there. In high school, she scored an average of 23.7 points, 10 rebounds, 4.4 steals, 4.3 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game in her senior year and was selected as a McDonald’s All-American.

Laney-Hamilton had a good high school performance that enabled her to join Rutgers University to play under the direction of coach C. Vivian Stringer. At Rutgers, she also performed well, participating in 99 games with scoring 10.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.3 steals per game in her four-year college career. Rutgers University not only helped her develop her skills but also helped her to prepare for professional basketball which paved the way for her WNBA career.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Personal Life

Unlike many of her peers, Laney-Hamilton has not shared much information about her background. However, it is on record that she tied the knot with Jordan Hamilton, a professional basketball player, on June 25, 2022. Jordan Hamilton, who was selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Draft, is playing for the Taipei Fubon Braves in the Taiwanese P. League+.

Betnijah-Laney’s mother, Yolanda Laney, played basketball for Cheyney State University and has been instrumental in her career. Betnijah also has a younger brother, Shakaris Laney, who played college football for the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Family Background

Laney-Hamilton, Betnijah was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in a family with a basketball background. Her mother Yolanda Laney was a basketball player for Cheyney State University and played under the guidance of C. Vivian Stringer and led her team to the national championship appearance. Yolanda Laney later joined the service of the city of Atlantic City as an assistant city attorney while at the same time pursuing her passion for basketball. Yolanda Laney is currently the Chief Municipal Public Defender for the city of Atlantic City, as per her LinkedIn page Betnijah also has a younger brother, Shakaris Laney, who played college football for the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton husband

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton is married to former NBA and Taiwanese P. League player, Jordan Hamilton. He was born on October 6, 1990, in Los Angeles, California, and he is a professional basketball player who has had a in different leagues and countries. He played college basketball for the University of Texas, where he scored 14.5 points and grabbed 5.7 rebounds per game in his two years. Hamilton was drafted in the first round of the 2011 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks as the 26th overall pick but was traded to the Denver Nuggets on the same day. He has also played for several NBA teams such as Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans among others as well as international teams in Turkey, Israel and Japan among others.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Social Media

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton is fairly active on social media where she likes to highlight her latest updates. She also likes to post her husband, former NBA player Jordan Hamilton, on there from time to time. Her Instagram account has the handle @najlaney. Along with this, she also has an X (formerly Twitter) account, with the username @BetnijahLaney.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Brand Ambassador

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton has collaborated with several popular brands and uses her influence to endorse products that she supports. Some of her major sponsorships include the Nike brand for apparel and shoes and Gatorade where she is involved in several campaigns and posts them on her social media.

Apart from these big endorsements, Laney-Hamilton has also worked with small specialised brands that are in the health niche. She has endorsed Model Atelier, a brand that supports taller women through fitness and fashion, according to the official Beyond the W.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Career Stats

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton has been a WNBA player for several years now and has been a consistent performer. To date, she has played more than 200 games for several teams, including the Chicago Sky, Indiana Fever, Connecticut Sun, Atlanta Dream, and New York Liberty. Her shooting and defensive skills have been part of her strengths, which saw her being named to the WNBA All-Defensive First Team in 2020 and the Second Team in 2023.

Laney-Hamilton had one of her best seasons in 2020 playing for the Atlanta Dream where she was awarded the WNBA Most Improved Player. In that particular season, she was able to score an average of 17.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. In 2021, she maintained her good form with the New York Liberty and was named a WNBA All-Star for the first time and became the first Liberty player to score at least 20 points in the first eight games of the season, as per ESPN.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Achievements

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton has been associated with many awards and titles throughout her WNBA as well as her high school and college career. Below mentioned are some of her achievements:

Most Improved Player (2020)

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton played for the Atlanta Dream and had a very good season in 2020 that earned her the WNBA Most Improved Player title. She improved her scoring average by three times from the previous season and scored 17.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game.

WNBA All-Star (2021)

Laney-Hamilton was selected to the WNBA All-Star game in 2021 while still in the New York Liberty. She entered the record books as the first Liberty player to score at least 20 points in the first eight games of the season.

All-WNBA Defensive Team

Laney-Hamilton has been honoured many times for her defensive abilities and she is a member of the All-WNBA Defensive Team. In 2020, she was awarded the WNBA All-Defensive First Team and the All-Defensive Second Team.

WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Winner (2023)

In the year 2023, Laney-Hamilton played a crucial role in the New York Liberty team winning the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup.

First-team All-Big Ten (2015)

Laney-Hamilton during her college time at Rutgers University was honoured as the First-team All-Big Ten in 2015. In her senior year she scored an average of 15.8 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.

Second-team All-AAC (2014)

In 2014, she was named the Second-team All-AAC, which proved that she was a consistent performer throughout her college years.

Big East All-Freshman Team (2012)

It was not long before the world saw the potential in Laney-Hamilton as she was selected to the Big East All-Freshman Team in 2012.

McDonald’s All-American (2011)

Before joining college basketball, Laney-Hamilton played basketball for Smyrna High School in Delaware. She was awarded the McDonald’s All-American in 2011 and played the senior year scoring an average of 23.7 points, 10 rebounds, 4.4 steals, 4.3 assists, and 1.2 blocks.

Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award (2022)

For her contribution to the community, Laney-Hamilton was awarded the Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award in 2022. This award recognizes players who are good leaders and who show a lot of commitment towards society.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Contract

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s latest contract was signed in 2024 and it is a 2-year contract with New York Liberty with total pay of $365,400 out of which $365,400 is guaranteed with an annual pay of $182,700. It has a cap hit of $180,000 and a dead cap of $180,000. The contract however does not include any signing bonuses or perks as of August 2024. The contract before this was signed in 2021, with the New York Liberty which was a 3-year $588,801 deal with an average annual salary of $196,267.