The New York Liberty replaced Sandy Brondello with Chris DeMarco at the end of the 2025 season, news that seemed to come as a surprise to Brondello and at least some of the team's players. DeMarco also wasn't really on anyone's list as a potential replacement, and his hiring raised questions among some fans and reporters (especially after he said he didn't watch a lot of WNBA before he was hired).
The team's start to the 2026 season didn't help. The Liberty struggled without Sabrina Ionescu on the court, and sufferd a few losses that seemed to take everyone by surprise. But they've started to find their footing (or at least it seems that way), and DeMarco has his eyes set on a specific prize: becoming the second first-year coach to win a title.
The first, to perhaps the surprise of exactly no one, was Becky Hammon. The Aces won the Finals at the end of the 2022 season, and Hammon became the third coach in league history to win back-to-back Championships when the team won again the following year.
DeMarco coached in the NBA for several years
While his WNBA knowledge might have been a little rusty, DeMarco was well-versed in the NBA before the hire. He spent 14 seasons with the Golden State Warriors, which included four championship years in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022. He's been the coach for the Bahamian men's national team since 2019, and very nearly brought the team to their first Olympics ahead of the 2024 Games.
DeMarco isn't the first former NBA assistant coach to be hired into the WNBA, and he probably won't be the last. The Liberty have seemed to adjust to his style of coaching well, and even sparked early playoffs contention stories during their first four games, when they averaged at least 100 points. Their struggles since then have been largely due to injuries (in addition to Ionescu, Fiebich has also not been available so far this season).
There's still plenty of basketball to be played, but the Liberty's core remained largely unchanged during free agency and many of the team's athletes are playing some of their best basketball. The Liberty is a team that knows how to win, that wants to win, and has a coach who can get them there — if all the pieces fall into place. Some of those pieces are out of their control, but it's starting to seem like DeMarco has a handle on everything that is.
Add us as a preferred source on Google