Opals coach set her WNBA team’s record for most wins. Then she was sacked

3 hours ago 1

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Skip to sections navigation Skip to content Skip to footer

Last year, Opals coach Sandy Brondello led her WNBA team, the New York Liberty, to their first championship win. Last month, she set the record for the most regular season wins of any coach in the franchise’s 28-year history. On Wednesday morning, she was sacked.

The Liberty announced Brondello’s departure on Wednesday after the Liberty were knocked out early in the first round of playoffs last weekend. They had finished fifth of 13 teams in the regular season.

Sandy Brondello in the second game of the playoffs against the Phoenix Mercury last week.

A favourite among her players, star forward Breanna Stewart swore at a reporter when asked in their post-game press conference on Saturday whether the Liberty should part ways with Brondello. Under her breath, Stewart responded to the question by saying, “What the f---?” Before continuing: “To anybody that questions Sandy being here, this is a resilient group, and she has our back, and we have hers...”

“We’re not going to be a team that points fingers,” Stewart went on to say. “There’s a lot of us that could have done better this season, but we’re still going to fight and show up for each other every single day and I think that’s the most important part. So, we have Sandy’s back.”

Brondello joined the Liberty ahead of the 2022 season taking them to two WNBA finals – in 2023 and again 2024 when they won the championship. Before Brondello was coach, the Liberty had exited in the first round of playoffs for two successive years and had failed to make the playoffs the three years before that.

During her tenure, she led the Liberty to 101 regular season wins and just 53 losses – the most wins of any coach in the team’s history.

The Liberty began their season with a nine-game winning streak – the best in team history – before injuries to stars Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones.

In a text message to the Associated Press on Wednesday, Brondello said: “It has been a privilege to have coached the NY Liberty these last four years. Bringing the first-ever championship to New York will always be the most amazing feeling. I wish the team and organisation more success moving forward.”

The Liberty’s general manager Jonathan Kolb issued a statement on Wednesday morning. “We would like to thank Sandy Brondello for her everlasting impact on the New York Liberty,” Kolb said.

“Sandy finishes her tenure in New York as the winningest [sic] coach in franchise history, and she took us to never-before-seen heights as the first head coach to lead the Liberty to a championship. We wish Sandy the very best in her next chapter.”

Before joining the Liberty, Brondello coached the Phoenix Mercury for eight years, leading them to a championship win in 2014. She was named coach of the year and broke the Mercury’s record for most wins in a season.

She has been head coach of the Opals since 2017, including when the team won bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. As a player, Brondello competed in four Olympic Games, winning one bronze and two silver medals.