Sandy Brondello seemingly had support from her players, but she’s out after four seasons, including the 2024 WNBA title.
Less than a year after winning the first WNBA championship in franchise history, the New York Liberty are moving on from the coach who led them to the title.
In the wake of a first-round exit from the WNBA playoffs last Friday, the Liberty announced Tuesday that they won’t be renewing the contract of head coach Sandy Brondello, who went 107-53 (.669) in four seasons with the franchise, including leading New York to the 2024 championship and back-to-back WNBA Finals appearances.
New York’s title defense was marred by injuries. The Liberty played all season without starting wing Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, and former MVPs Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart both missed extended stretches. Even so, New York probably underperformed its talent at less than full strength, finishing with the No. 5 seed to set up a difficult first-round series against the Phoenix Mercury without the benefit of home-court advantage.
Ahead of a critical offseason for the Liberty — and the entire WNBA as a new collective bargaining agreement is negotiated — they must decide on the coach to lead them into a new era. Only one player (Leonie Fiebich) who saw more than seven minutes of action in the playoffs is under contract.
ESPN’s Katie Barnes, Kevin Pelton and Michael Voepel break down why New York made this move, who might be next on the Liberty sideline and where Brondello could land as a coaching free agent.
Michael Voepel: There were rumblings during the season that Brondello might be on the hot seat, although to many observers that didn’t make sense. From the outside, it’s hard to see her four seasons in New York as anything but a success. Her tenure erased the Liberty’s championship void: first with the Commissioner’s Cup title in 2023 and then the WNBA title in 2024.
However, it’s hard to always know what goes on behind closed doors regarding team dynamics and conversations among management, coaches and players.
Some point to the injury-plagued No. 6 seed Indiana Fever still playing in the WNBA semifinals while the No. 5 seed Liberty have been eliminated. But despite the Fever’s many injuries — especially at the guard position and most importantly to Caitlin Clark — Indiana had four other players who appeared in every game this season, three of whom started each game.
Between injuries and players at overseas competition, the Liberty didn’t have as much continuity in their lineup throughout the season as expected. And the losses of Laney-Hamilton (injury) and Kayla Thornton (taken in the expansion draft by Golden State) detracted from New York’s defense and depth compared to 2024.
Ultimately, the Liberty management didn’t think the 2025 Liberty accomplished what it expected, and Brondello took the fall.
Katie Barnes: The Liberty front office might have to do some damage control with players. Nearly the entire starting five will be unrestricted free agents, including Stewart.
