TORONTO \u2014 If there\u2019s one thing that\u2019s been made clear about Toronto in the last month, it\u2019s that the city wholeheartedly rallies behind winners. Success in sports matters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So when the Toronto Tempo \u2014 the WNBA\u2019s latest expansion franchise and the city\u2019s freshest banner to fly \u2014 announced the hire of Sandy Brondello, one of the WNBA\u2019s most successful coaches and a two-time champion, it was a clear indication that winning will be a priority from Day 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not common for an expansion franchise to have that luxury \u2014 to be able to find success off the rip and create a buy-in from players, coaches and overall talent across the league \u2014 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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,\u201d Brondello said at her introductory press conference in Toronto on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
For her, it\u2019s not just the opportunity to start with a blank canvas. After all, there\u2019s another expansion franchise in Portland coming in 2026 and three more in Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia joining over the next few years.<\/p>\n
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. \u00a0<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re playing for that next generation,\u201d she said, speaking to the importance of the team not only representing the city, but its people and its community.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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 \u2014 the WNBA\u2019s 2025 expansion franchise, which made the playoffs in Year 1 \u2014 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?\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Brondello was suddenly fired by the Liberty after their first-round playoff loss in mid-September, Wright Rogers had her answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d the Tempo GM said.\u201c Would be unwise to not try and land her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bringing in a coach who understood that aspect of the franchise \u2014 that the off-court product is as important as what happens on-court \u2014 was a big deal for the Tempo in their inaugural season as they try to make headway into Toronto\u2019s passionate market. And getting a coach with a cachet such as Brondello\u2019s goes a long way as they try to bring \u201cfamiliarity to this team, this country, by bringing WNBA greats in all aspects.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019s also no stranger to that passion, comparing the Toronto faithful to the hordes of Australian hoops fans she\u2019s had to face down over her years coaching the women\u2019s national team.<\/p>\n
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\u2019ja 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 \u201cplayer-coach\u201d with a plethora of experience, could help them hit the ground running.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFocused on having a head coach that, number one, would attract free agents. That would allow us to take advantage of the space that we\u2019re in right now, as a franchise,\u201d Wright Rogers said, as to why she and the Tempo wanted Brondello. \u201cNumber two, WNBA experience was something that (was important), I couldn\u2019t shake this feeling of wanting someone that knows this league, that wouldn\u2019t have a huge learning curve, especially with us being an expansion franchise in a new country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hiring Brondello is an important recruitment piece for the months to come. That the Tempo can attract a coach of her level \u2014 who had multiple offers and conversations with other teams \u2014 should hopefully appeal to the star players set to hit the open market.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u2019re not just playing for a city, but for a country. Brondello called the city \u201cvery vibrant,\u201d and made sure to shout out the Toronto Blue Jays\u2019 playoff run.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJust to see the passion of the fans and the city and the support that they give their teams, I think that\u2019s great and it\u2019s fun to be a part of,\u201d she said, \u201cand it\u2019s great that they support women\u2019s sport. That\u2019s so big. That\u2019s dear to my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
In terms of experience, there wasn\u2019t 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u2019 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Superstars and legends of the game have been present every step of the way on Brondello\u2019s journey through coaching. Meanwhile, for the Tempo, the roster is completely empty.<\/p>\n
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: \u201cMy narrative hasn\u2019t changed. I like winning.\u201d<\/p>\n
As does Toronto, and the Tempo took the first step towards ingratiating themselves on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 If there\u2019s one thing that\u2019s been made clear about Toronto in the last month, it\u2019s that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":262006,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,82,630],"class_list":{"0":"post-262005","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=262005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262005\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}