Sandy Brondello Closing in on Liberty History

Sandy Brondello, head coach of the New York Liberty, moved into second place on the franchise's all-time coaching wins list after the team's 87-78 victory over the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday. This marked her 93rd win in her fourth season, breaking a tie with Bill Laimbeer (92 wins). Only Richie Adubato, with 100 wins during his tenure from 1999-2004, remains ahead of her.

Brondello's success with the Liberty since joining in 2022 includes reaching the playoffs in each of her first three full seasons and leading the team to its first championship in franchise history by winning the 2024 WNBA Finals. This followed a Commissioner's Cup win the previous year. The 2024 Finals victory also made Brondello the Liberty's all-time winningest postseason coach, surpassing Adubato.

Brondello attributed her success to her players, stating it's a credit to the team's quality and their collective goal of winning games, rather than a personal milestone she actively seeks. She is currently the second-longest tenured active head coach across New York's major sports teams (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL), behind only Yankees manager Aaron Boone.

When Brondello secures her 100th win with the Liberty, she will become only the second WNBA head coach (alongside Mike Thibault) to reach 100 victories with two different franchises, having previously won 150 games with the Phoenix Mercury. Additionally, Brondello was recently named the head coach of one of the fantasy teams for the upcoming WNBA All-Star Game.

The earliest Brondello can reach the 100-win milestone is at the start of next month when the Liberty begin a doubleheader against the Connecticut Sun. The Liberty have twelve games remaining on their home schedule, including a five-game homestand starting Sunday against the Atlanta Dream.