The New York Liberty hired Golden State Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco to replace Sandy Brondello as head coach, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Friday.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because no official announcement had been made.
DeMarco has been with the Warriors for 13 years in a variety of positions, including player development coach and assistant.
ESPN was first to report the hiring.
He’s the latest WNBA hire with NBA backgrounds, joining Alex Sarama (Portland) and Sonia Raman (Seattle), who were two of the five head coaches hired this offseason in the league.
The Liberty let Brondello go soon after their loss in the first round of the WNBA playoffs. She helped guide the team to its first WNBA championship in 2024. She was recently hired by the Toronto expansion team.
At the time of Brondello’s departure, New York general manager Jonathan Kolb said the team was looking for “evolution and innovation” and asking, “How do we position ourselves to be at the top of the league in a real sustainable way as the league evolves?”
DeMarco has been the Bahamian national team coach since 2019. Liberty star Jonquel Jones hails from that island nation. He has been a part of all four of the Warriors championships.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
