After Tuesday evening’s victory in Los Angeles, Sandy Brondello sat on the postgame podium drenched in water with a white towel draped over her shoulders.
It seemed as if the coach was celebrating back-to-back WNBA titles. However clearly, it’s solely August — not October. And it was only a regular-season street win over a rebuilding Sparks workforce.
The win, although, cemented Brondello within the Liberty file guide.
BIGS DUBS IN THE CHAT 👐
The 105-97 victory over the Sparks gave Brondello her a hundred and first win as Liberty head coach, surpassing Richie Adubato for first place in franchise historical past.
“We heard about it before she came in, obviously. And so we were like ‘OK, when she comes in, everybody get a water.’” Jonquel Jones stated.
Brondello, whom the Liberty employed earlier than the 2022 WNBA season, took 4 seasons to rise to the highest. Adubato, who coached the Liberty from 1999-2004, totaled his wins over six seasons.
“Obviously, it means a lot,” Brondello stated after her record-breaking win. “It’s a privilege to be the head coach of the New York Liberty, an original franchise with the best owners in the league. But it just means I’ve had a really good team for the four years I’ve been in New York, and a lot of credit just goes to the team and just buying in the way that we want to play.”
After 5 WNBA seasons as a participant and 9 seasons on the San Antonio Silver Stars and Sparks staffs, Brondello turned head coach of the Phoenix Mercury in November 2013. Ten months later, she led the No. 1 seeded Mercury to a WNBA title after sweeping the Chicago Sky, 3-0.
She spent eight seasons (2014-21) with the Mercury, drawing up performs for among the WNBA’s best hoopers: Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, DeWanna Bonner, Candice Dupree and Skylar Diggins.
Earlier than her Phoenix departure, she additionally crossed paths with a younger Isabelle Harrison, who Brondello coaches as soon as once more in New York.
“I just feel like Sandy is a real player-coach,” Harrison stated. “Obviously, she played before, and she was my coach my rookie year so like I see a lot of the same stuff but a completely different Sandy, it’s crazy.”
“She’s way more assertive now,” stated Harrison, who joined the Liberty throughout the 2025 offseason, added. “She’s very vocal and she knows when to plug people in when we need it and I know she’s been heavily relying on me so obviously like, I’m here because of Sandy.”
That assertiveness comes with success and heightened confidence, per Olaf Lange — Brondello’s husband and assistant with each the Liberty and Australian nationwide workforce.
The forceful persona was on full show on a July evening when her workforce turned in its worst efficiency of the 2025 season.
The Liberty trailed by as many as 30 factors to a rebuilding Dallas Wings squad in what became a 92-82 defeat at Faculty Park Heart on July 28. Brondello was with out Breanna Stewart, Kennedy Burke and Nyara Sabally, nonetheless, it wasn’t a ok excuse for what transpired: zero level of assault resistance, a litany of settled three-point makes an attempt, no paint safety and pick-and-roll protection that made the Liberty appear to be a school workforce.
It was the Wings who seemed like defending champs. The Liberty had been terrible that evening.
Brondello lit into her workforce throughout timeouts and at halftime. She then held the whole workforce for a postgame assembly that lasted over half-hour.
Fortuitously for the Liberty, they received revenge within the following two matchups, together with final Friday’s victory that gave Brondello her record-tying one centesimal Liberty win.
Precisely 1,193 days separate Brondello’s first Liberty win to her a hundred and first.
Whereas leaning on her enjoying and training expertise, Brondello “developed all areas of her coaching,” which helped carry house the Liberty’s first-ever WNBA title final October.
“She played, and she’s never lost that connection.”
The very first Liberty victory got here on Might 7, 2022 — a comeback two-point win towards the Connecticut Solar. The win got here after her offseason arrival following the tip of her tenure in Phoenix. After successful the 2014 title, Brondello reached the WNBA Finals once more in 2021, however had been eradicated, 3-1, by the Sky.
The Mercury introduced they weren’t renewing Brondello’s contract two months after the Finals look. That gave Liberty basic supervisor Jonathan Kolb — who already regarded Brondello as a “coaching legend” — a transparent pathway to signal the Aussie.
She changed Walt Hopkins in New York after going 150-108 in Phoenix and inherited a roster that included former No. 1 decide Sabrina Ionescu, All-Stars Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and Natasha Howard and a mixture of younger and veteran gamers.
“I think in particular, she’s always been really great at drawing up stuff, I think for sure,” Whitcomb stated. “So I feel [After Timeout plays], however simply realizing tips on how to get one of the best out of gamers offensively. She is aware of the sport. She is aware of tips on how to form of manipulate defenses to get gamers stuff.
“And then I think she’s always been good at the culture stuff. She, I think, gets that players drive that, but that it does have to come from the top too.”
Lange, who joined the Liberty workers alongside Brondello in 2022, acknowledged the stress of coming to a giant market. Nevertheless, that simply fueled the top coach.
Brondello led the Liberty to a 16-20 regular-season file in her first season, however is 85-27 since then.
The inflated win proportion (75.9) is because of Kolb’s 2023 roster overhaul that landed Stewart and Jones in Brooklyn. Leonie Fiebich and Emma Meesseman joined as nicely, making the Liberty a potent super-team.
Kolb, although, believes it’s the top coach that deserves all of the credit score.
Initially Revealed: August 13, 2025 at 9:50 AM EDT
