Brondello started her WNBA career in 1998 by being selected in the fourth round (34th overall) by the newly formed Detroit Shock, becoming an All-Star in the first WNBA All-Star Game in 1999. During the 2000 expansion draft on December 15, 1999, Brondello was selected by the Indiana Fever.[5] She was then traded to the Miami Sol (along with a 2000 first-round draft pick) in exchange for Stephanie White.[6] After sitting out of the 2002 season due to a foot injury playing for Wuppertal during the WNBA offseason,[7] Brondello signed as a free agent with the Seattle Storm in 2003, joining fellow Australians Lauren Jackson and Tully Bevilaqua. Brondello was one of the top three-point shooters in league history, her .410 percentage ranking fourth all-time.[8]
On the Australian National Team, Brondello joined the team before the age of 18 and remained on the Opals for 17 years,[4] and her 302 games made Brondello the third most capped Australian player, behind Robyn Maher and Karen Dalton. Brondello's tournaments with Australia include four World Championships, with two bronze medals, and four Olympic tournaments, with two silver medals and a bronze.[2] Twice she sat out of the WNBA due to Olympic commitments, in 2000 and 2004.[3][9] The 2004 tournament in Athens turned out to be Brondello's last major event, with her afterwards investing in a coaching career.[4]
Coaching career
WNBA
In 2005, Brondello was named an assistant coach of the San Antonio Silver Stars. She was promoted to head coach in February 2010.[10]
In 2009 Brondello was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame.[11]
Brondello and her husband, associate head coach Olaf Lange, were fired by the Silver Stars in September 2010. Brondello finished her only season as head coach with a 14–20 record, third best in the Western Conference. They were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by Phoenix two games to none. General manager Dan Hughes regained the title of head coach in January 2011, returning to the dual role he held before promoting Brondello.[12][13] Brondello would become an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Sparks for the 2011 season.
In April 2017, Brondello was appointed head coach of the Australian women's basketball team, the Opals. She combines this role with her WNBA coaching duties.[17]
On 6 December 2021, the Phoenix Mercury announced that the team and head coach Sandy Brondello had mutually agreed to part ways and that her contract, which expired after the 2021 season, would not be renewed.[18]
On 7 January 2022, Brondello was officially named the head coach of New York Liberty.[19]
In 2021 she coached the team at the delayed Tokyo Olympics. The team was knocked out in the quarter finals by the US.[21]
The 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup was hosted by Australia, and played in Sydney. Australia came third in the tournament, being knocked out by China in the semi final, and winning the third place playoff against Canada.[22]
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Australian team won the bronze medal, the team's first Olympic medal since a bronze in 2012. They were beaten by the US in a semi final, and won the third place playoff against Belgium.[23]
Personal life
Brondello is married to Olaf Lange, who is also a basketball coach and an assistant for the Liberty.[24] They have 2 children, Brody and Jayda.
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