hiring of DeMarco<\/a>, a longtime Warriors assistant who also coached the Bahamian men\u2019s national team in the lead up to the 2024 Paris Games.\u00a0<\/p>\nDeMarco fits the mold for what general manager Jonathan Kolb and his team were looking for in the team\u2019s next coach: An elite level of tactical confidence; an established leadership style with deep curiosity for the game; an unwavering drive to uncover every strategic edge; a deep understanding of the habits that go into building a dynasty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
New New York Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco during the press conference at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, on December 10, 2025. JASON SZENES\/ NY POST<\/p>\n
DeMarco proved he had all that and more to offer, and he\u2019s eager for the pressure-packed journey that lies ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you ever played any sport and you\u2019re competitive, this is what you want. You want to be around the best players in the world. You want to be in the best situations for your career and you want a chance to win,\u201d DeMarco said. \u201cAnd if you don\u2019t, then this is probably not the right career for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Liberty, only a year and change removed from winning the franchise\u2019s first WNBA title, refuse to be a one-hit wonder. They want to build sustained success.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So who better to bring in than someone who\u2019s had a part in one of basketball\u2019s greatest modern dynasties?<\/p>\n
DeMarco\u2019s fingerprints are all over four of the Larry O\u2019Brien trophies in Chase Center.<\/p>\n
New New York Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco (L) and New York Liberty GM Jonathan Kolb pose after the press conference. JASON SZENES\/ NY POST<\/p>\n
He worked for the Warriors \u2014 first under Mark Jackson then Steve Kerr \u2014 the past 14 years. He started as a video coordinator and scout before being promoted to director of player development and then to assistant coach. <\/p>\n
DeMarco moved to a highly coveted front-of-the-bench position this season and serves as Kerr\u2019s right-hand man, who runs the team\u2019s defense, which is ranked in the top three in the NBA this season.<\/p>\n
In total, he\u2019s been on the bench for 171 playoff games and six trips to the NBA Finals.\u00a0<\/p>\n
DeMarco doesn\u2019t have a background in women\u2019s basketball. He said he watched the WNBA from afar as a fan. But he\u2019s ready to make his impact on the league.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCovering the Liberty like never before\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Madeline Kenney’s Inside the Liberty, a weekly Sports+ newsletter.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
DeMarco started to consider taking the leap to being a head coach after leading the Bahamas on a historic run that fell just short of the country making its Olympic debut in men\u2019s basketball.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen this opportunity came up, and I did just a little bit of research, it was a no-brainer,\u201d DeMarco said. \u201cThis is the best opportunity in the WNBA.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
DeMarco talked to Mercury general manager and former Warriors front-office staffer Nick U\u2019Ren, Mercury coach and former Magic assistant coach Nate Tibbetts and Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase about making the transition from the NBA to the WNBA.\u00a0<\/p>\n
New New York Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco poses in front of the plaza marquee at Barclays Center. JASON SZENES\/ NY POST<\/p>\n
While he\u2019s technically still working for the Warriors through the end of the year \u2014 he said his last game will be Golden State\u2019s Dec. 29 contest in Brooklyn \u2014 DeMarco has been spending his free time combing over WNBA film. He said he\u2019s bought every Liberty book available online, too.<\/p>\n
DeMarco believes the Liberty have strong bones. Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu, both free agents, are expected to return. The Liberty have Nyara Sabally and Leonie Fiebich under contract and other players\u2019 rights, including Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and Marine Johann\u00e8s (among others).<\/p>\n
All were members of the 2024 championship-winning team. All know how hard it is to claim the league\u2019s top spot. He\u2019s setting his sights high and embracing the bright spotlight.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cFor 2026, obviously we have championship aspirations,\u201d DeMarco said. \u201cThat\u2019s always going to be the goal. It\u2019s about developing players, building the right culture and making sure we\u2019re competitive every game.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is a full-circle moment for DeMarco, who lived on Long Island until the first grade before moving to Appleton, Wisconsin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
DeMarco\u2019s late father, Sal, is a native New Yorker, who had the thick accent and all. He used to visit family and take trips to Jones Beach every summer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His father developed the reputation in small-town Wisconsin as the coach \u201cwho was a little intense for the Midwest at times,\u201d DeMarco said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always been drawn to the city,\u201d DeMarco continued. \u201cAnd again, I talked about the championship pedigree here. I want to go somewhere where we have a chance to win and with the support of ownership and the way ownership aligns with management and now the head coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is just an exciting opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Chris DeMarco pulled up to Barclays Center on Tuesday morning, excitement washed over him.\u00a0 His face, with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":342358,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[436,99,434,23316],"class_list":{"0":"post-342357","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-new-york-liberty","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-wnba","11":"tag-wnba-free-agency"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342357\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/342358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}