TORONTO — If there’s one thing that’s been made clear about Toronto in the last month, it’s that the city wholeheartedly rallies behind winners. Success in sports matters.
So when the Toronto Tempo — the WNBA’s latest expansion franchise and the city’s freshest banner to fly — announced the hire of Sandy Brondello, one of the WNBA’s most successful coaches and a two-time champion, it was a clear indication that winning will be a priority from Day 1.
It’s not common for an expansion franchise to have that luxury — to be able to find success off the rip and create a buy-in from players, coaches and overall talent across the league — but the Tempo found themselves in a unique position. One that Brondello, who has been coaching in the league for two decades, felt was right for her at this point in her career.
“It just felt right, the opportunity to do something from the very beginning and to (not only) build a team, but to build a culture and also to build a legacy,” Brondello said at her introductory press conference in Toronto on Tuesday.
For her, it’s not just the opportunity to start with a blank canvas. After all, there’s another expansion franchise in Portland coming in 2026 and three more in Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia joining over the next few years.
Instead, the chance to guide a team in a completely new market, with the support of a whole nation behind her, made the opening all the more exciting.
Brondello, a native of Mackay, Australia, also understands the impact having a franchise in Canada has on future hoopers hoping to don the red and white.
“We’re playing for that next generation,” she said, speaking to the importance of the team not only representing the city, but its people and its community.
General manager Monica Wright Rogers mentioned that she and her fellow executives cast a wide net in their coaching search, which began in July. Would they take the route of the Golden State Valkyries — the WNBA’s 2025 expansion franchise, which made the playoffs in Year 1 — and hire an unproven commodity like Natalie Nakase (who went on to win coach of the year)? Or would they go after someone whose name already holds weight, and someone who has relationships with a ton of players set to become free agents this winter?
When Brondello was suddenly fired by the Liberty after their first-round playoff loss in mid-September, Wright Rogers had her answer.
“We were able to have a crack at one of the best coaches in WNBA history. And I took a swing, and I definitely knew that there would be other teams,” the Tempo GM said.“ Would be unwise to not try and land her.”
Bringing in a coach who understood that aspect of the franchise — that the off-court product is as important as what happens on-court — was a big deal for the Tempo in their inaugural season as they try to make headway into Toronto’s passionate market. And getting a coach with a cachet such as Brondello’s goes a long way as they try to bring “familiarity to this team, this country, by bringing WNBA greats in all aspects.”
She’s also no stranger to that passion, comparing the Toronto faithful to the hordes of Australian hoops fans she’s had to face down over her years coaching the women’s national team.
In the eyes of Wright Rogers, getting a big-name coach also helps them as the league approaches a turning point, with one of the most loaded free-agent classes in sport history. Players like A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Arike Ogunbowale, and an obscene amount of other stars are set to hit the open market, and bringing in someone who has relationships, a “player-coach” with a plethora of experience, could help them hit the ground running.
“Focused on having a head coach that, number one, would attract free agents. That would allow us to take advantage of the space that we’re in right now, as a franchise,” Wright Rogers said, as to why she and the Tempo wanted Brondello. “Number two, WNBA experience was something that (was important), I couldn’t shake this feeling of wanting someone that knows this league, that wouldn’t have a huge learning curve, especially with us being an expansion franchise in a new country.”
Hiring Brondello is an important recruitment piece for the months to come. That the Tempo can attract a coach of her level — who had multiple offers and conversations with other teams — should hopefully appeal to the star players set to hit the open market.
The team is also hoping to use Toronto, and Canada as a whole, as a means to recruit stars, harping on the idea that they’re not just playing for a city, but for a country. Brondello called the city “very vibrant,” and made sure to shout out the Toronto Blue Jays’ playoff run.
“Just to see the passion of the fans and the city and the support that they give their teams, I think that’s great and it’s fun to be a part of,” she said, “and it’s great that they support women’s sport. That’s so big. That’s dear to my heart.”
This city, like any other, loves its teams best when they win. And getting someone with a winning acumen, one who can contrast the members of the front office who are fresher in their roles, was a big deal for the Tempo throughout this process.
In terms of experience, there wasn’t anyone on the open market with more than the 57-year-old Brondello. However, getting in on the ground floor is a new one for her, and one she mentioned right off the bat that she was a bit nervous about, despite all the years and two titles.
After a five-year WNBA playing career, she began coaching as an assistant with the San Antonio Silver Stars in 2005, getting the chance to coach Becky Hammon. Then, after a one-year stint in the lead job in San Antonio, she joined the Los Angeles Sparks’ coaching staff, guiding Candace Parker. From there, she went to the Phoenix Mercury and coached Diana Taurasi, Britney Griner and DeWanna Bonner, winning a title in her first year on the job in 2014.
Eight years later, she took a job with the New York Liberty and young star Sabrina Ionescu, transforming her sophomore slump into a third-year breakout and eventually leading them to a first title in franchise history in 2024.
Superstars and legends of the game have been present every step of the way on Brondello’s journey through coaching. Meanwhile, for the Tempo, the roster is completely empty.
Though her situation has changed, going from star-laden teams to a blank canvas, one thing has remained the same for Brondello as she approaches her new challenge: “My narrative hasn’t changed. I like winning.”
As does Toronto, and the Tempo took the first step towards ingratiating themselves on Tuesday.