Liberty hire ex-Mercury coach Brondello
The New York Liberty named ex-Phoenix Mercury bench boss Sandy Brondello their next head coach, the Liberty announced Friday.
Brondello has posted a 164-128 (.562) regular-season record in nine seasons as a head coach - 2010 with the then-San Antonio Stars, and 2014-21 with the Mercury. She coached Phoenix to two Finals appearances, 2014 and 2021, with a championship win in her first year with the organization. She was named WNBA Coach of the Year in 2014.
The Australian has also served as head coach of the Opals, her country's senior women's national team, since 2017.
"It is an honor to join the historic New York Liberty franchise and to coach and lead such a talented roster of players," Brondello said in a statement. "I owe immense gratitude to the team's ownership and front office for entrusting me with this important role during such an integral time in the history of the organization."
As a player, Brondello was an All-Star with the Detroit Shock in 1999 and won three Olympic medals, including two silvers with one coming at her home nation's games in Sydney in 2000. She retired from the WNBA after spending the 2003 season with the Seattle Storm.
Despite a 12-20 record, the Liberty snuck into the postseason as the eighth seed in 2021 but lost 83-82 in the first round to the Brondello's fifth-seeded Mercury.
New York elected to move on from coach Walt Hopkins earlier this month after two seasons.