The New York Liberty are moving on from Sandy Brondello. The team announced Tuesday that it will not renew Brondello’s contract for next season, ending their partnership.
The move comes one season after Brondello led the Liberty to its first WNBA championship. In a statement, the franchise thanked Brondello, acknowledging she leaves the team as the winningest coach in franchise history.
After a fantastic eight-year run with the Phoenix Mercury, in which Brondello led the team to a championship in her first season, Brondello was hired by the Liberty ahead of the 2022 WNBA season.
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The Liberty experienced a rocky first year under Brondello before posting two straight seasons with a 32-8 record. While the team fell short of a championship in 2023, it bounced back to win it all in 2024.
The Liberty got out to a hot start in 2025, winning their first nine games. From there, however, the team just 18-17 the rest of the way, falling to fifth seed in the playoffs. They didn’t last long in the postseason, as the Liberty were eliminated by the Mercury on Friday.
Following that loss, Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu were asked about critics who believed Brondello should be fired after the team. Stewart seemed shocked by the idea, muttering an expletive before shutting it down.
“To anybody that kinda questions Sandy being here, this is a resilient group,” Stewart said. “And she has our back and we have hers. The way that she continued to kind of deal with the cards she was dealt was incredible. It wasn’t easy for anybody but she came in every day with a positive attitude and a mindset to put us in our best positions possible and best foot forward.”
Ionescu nodded along in agreement as Stewart defended Brondello. At the end of that answer, Steward reiterated, “We have Sandy’s back.”
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In four seasons with the Liberty, Brondello posted a 107-53 record. She won the WNBA coach of the month award three times during her tenure with the club, the most recent coming in May.
This story will be updated.