New York Liberty | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position | Head Coach | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
League | WNBA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Mackay, Queensland, Australia | 20 August 1968|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Listed height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Listed weight | 136 lb (62 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WNBA draft | 1998: 4th round, 34th overall pick | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Selected by the Detroit Shock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing career | 1992–2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Shooting guard | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coaching career | 2005–present | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As player: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1998–1999 | Detroit Shock | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2001–2002 | Miami Sol | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2003 | Seattle Storm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As coach: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2005–2009 | San Antonio Silver Stars (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010 | San Antonio Silver Stars | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2011–2013 | Los Angeles Sparks (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014–2021 | Phoenix Mercury | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2022–present | New York Liberty | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As player:
As coach: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stats at WNBA.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
|
Sandra Anne Brondello (born 20 August 1968) is an Australian women's basketball coach, and the current head coach of the New York Liberty of the WNBA. Brondello played in Australia, Germany and the WNBA before retiring to become a coach. The 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) Brondello is one of Australia's all-time best shooting guards. She played on Australia's "Opals" national team at four Summer Olympics, and won three medals (one bronze, two silvers). She attended the Australian Institute of Sport in 1986–1987, [1] and was inducted to the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. [2]
Brondello grew up in Mackay, Queensland, where her parents had a sugar cane farm. At the age of 9, she started to play basketball in a grass court her father built in the backyard [3] [4] Brondello's career began in Australia's Women's National Basketball League, where she was named the Australian Basketball Player of the Year in 1992. Brondello played for 10 seasons in the WNBL, reaching the playoffs on three occasions and being named Most Valuable Player in 1995 as a member of the Brisbane Blazers. She also played between 1992 and 2002 in Germany for BTV Wuppertal, winning ten national championships and the 1995–96 FIBA Women's European Champions Cup. [2]
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. She was selected by the Indiana Fever in late 1999's expansion draft, but never played a game for them, being traded to the Miami Sol along with a first-round pick for Stephanie McCarty. After sitting out of the 2002 season due to a foot injury playing for Wuppertal during the WNBA offseason, [5] 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. [6]
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] [7] The 2004 tournament in Athens turned out to be Brondello's last major event, with her afterwards investing in a coaching career. [4]
In 2005, Brondello was named an assistant coach of the San Antonio Silver Stars. She was promoted to head coach in February 2010. [8]
In 2009 Brondello was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame. [9]
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. [10] [11] Brondello would become an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Sparks for the 2011 season.
In November 2013, Brondello was hired by the Phoenix Mercury to replace interim coach Russ Pennell. [12] In her inaugural season, Brondello led the Mercury – which featured a former Opals teammate, Penny Taylor – to the league's top record and highest single-season win total in WNBA history, with 29 wins and 5 losses, earning her a Coach of the Year Award. [13] The Mercury eventually won the 2014 WNBA Finals by sweeping the Chicago Sky. [14]
In April 2017, Brondello was appointed head coach of the Australian women's basketball team, the Opals. She will combine this role with her WNBA coaching duties. [15]
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. [16]
On 7 January 2022, Brondello was officially named the head coach of New York Liberty. [17]
Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SAS | 2010 | 34 | 14 | 20 | .412 | 3rd in West | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | Lost in Western Conference Semi-Finals |
PHO | 2014 | 34 | 29 | 5 | .853 | 1st in West | 8 | 7 | 1 | .875 | Won WNBA Finals |
PHO | 2015 | 34 | 20 | 14 | .588 | 2nd in West | 4 | 2 | 2 | .500 | Lost in Western Conference Finals |
PHO | 2016 | 34 | 16 | 18 | .457 | 4th in West | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | Lost in WNBA Semi-Finals |
PHO | 2017 | 34 | 18 | 16 | .529 | 4th in West | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | Lost in WNBA Semi-Finals |
PHO | 2018 | 34 | 20 | 14 | .588 | 2nd in West | 7 | 4 | 3 | .571 | Lost in WNBA Semi-Finals |
PHO | 2019 | 34 | 15 | 19 | .441 | 5th in West | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost in 1st Round |
PHO | 2020 | 22 | 13 | 9 | .591 | 5th in West | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost in 2nd Round |
PHO | 2021 | 32 | 19 | 13 | .594 | 4th in West | 11 | 6 | 5 | .545 | Lost in WNBA Finals |
NYL | 2022 | 36 | 16 | 20 | .444 | 4th in East | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | Lost in 1st Round |
NYL | 2023 | 40 | 32 | 8 | .800 | 1st in East | 10 | 6 | 4 | .600 | Lost in WNBA Finals |
Career | 368 | 212 | 156 | .536 | 48 | 31 | 27 | .574 |
Brondello is married to Olaf Lange, who is also a basketball coach and an assistant for the Liberty. [18]
Michele Margaret Timms is an Australian basketball coach and former player. She played five seasons for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008 and into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2016.
Penelope Jane Taylor is an Australian former professional basketball player and assistant coach. During her 19-year career, Taylor spent the most time with the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, where she won three championships. She also won the WNBL title with her first club, the Australian Institute of Sport, and played in China, Italy, Turkey and Russia. As part of the Australian woman's national team, Taylor won two Olympic medals and led the Australian Opals to a gold medal at the World Championships, winning tournament MVP honours ahead of teammate Lauren Jackson.
Belinda Snell is an Australian women's basketball player. She is a member of the Australia women's national basketball team, and has won two silver medals in basketball at the 2004 & 2008 Summer Olympics, a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, a gold medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, a gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, a gold medal at the 2006 World Championships, and a bronze medal at the 2014 World Championships.
Trisha Nicole Dykstra is an Australian retired basketball player in the Australian Women's National Basketball League and the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) of the United States. She also played with the Australian national team during the three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1996, including as captain at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Fallon started her career at age sixteen.
Kristi Harrower is an Australian professional basketball player, who three times won the silver medal with the Australian Women's Team at the Summer Olympics, and also the bronze in 2012. She played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1998 to 2005 for the Phoenix Mercury and Minnesota Lynx.
Leilani Seamah Mitchell is an American-Australian professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. Mitchell was drafted 25th overall by the Phoenix Mercury in the 2008 WNBA draft. A dual citizen of the United States and Australia, she is a member of Australian women's national basketball team. In 2019 Mitchell became the first WNBA player to win the Most Improved Player Award twice.
Jennifer Hazel (Jenny) Whittle is a retired Australian women's basketball player. Whittle was a regular member of the national team for over a decade, from 1994 until 2006. Playing Centre, Whittle was a key contributor to the Opals' success at international events during the 1990s and 2000s, with strong rebounding and defence a feature of her game. Following an outstanding national and WNBL career, Whittle was elected to the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
The 2010 WNBA season was the 14th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began with a televised (ESPN2) meeting between the defending champion Phoenix Mercury and the Los Angeles Sparks in Phoenix, Arizona on May 15. The Connecticut Sun hosted the 10th Annual All-Star Game which was broadcast live on ESPN on July 10. This year, it was a contest between Geno Auriemma's USA Basketball team and a single team of WNBA All-Stars. The Finals was a series between the Seattle Storm and the Atlanta Dream which Seattle won 3–0.
Abby Bishop is an Australian professional basketball forward/center who plays for Southside Flyers of the Australian WNBL. She has played for the Australian Institute of Sport from 2005 to 2006, the Canberra Capitals from 2006 to 2010, Dandenong Rangers from 2010 to 2011 Canberra Capitals. She is currently a member of the Adelaide Lightning (2016/2017). She is a member of the Australia women's national basketball team and won a gold medal during the 2007 Oceania World Qualifications series and a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Elizabeth Folake Cambage is an Australian professional basketball player who recently joined the Sichuan Yuanda Women's Basketball Team in Chengdu, China. Prior to her move to China, Cambage showcased her prowess with the Maccabi Bnot Ashdod of the Israeli Female Basketball Premier League. Cambage currently shares the WNBA single-game scoring record with A'ja Wilson, with her 53-point performance against the New York Liberty on 17 July 2018.
Carrie Ann Graf is an Australian basketball coach. She competed in the WNBL as a player starting during 1983–1989, after which she attended RMIT. Graf has coached teams in the WNBL, WNBA and Australia's national team, and has been honoured for her contribution to basketball coaching.
Kristen Veal is an Australian basketball player. She won three Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) championships as a member of the Canberra Capitals, and has also played for the Sydney Uni Flames and the Logan Thunder. She was drafted in the first round of the WNBA draft, and was the youngest player to ever play in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She has represented Australia as a member of the Australia women's national basketball team.
Lauren Elizabeth Jackson is an Australian professional basketball player. Arguably the most notable Australian women's basketball player, Jackson has had a decorated career with the Australia women's national basketball team and has had multiple stints in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) between 1997 and 2024. Between 2001 and 2012, she played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Cayla George is an Australian professional basketball player for the Sydney Flames of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She was a member of the Australian Women's basketball team (Opals) at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Opals were eliminated after losing to the USA in the quarterfinals.
Jae Kingi-Cross is a former Australian women's basketball player.
Rebecca "Spida" Allen is an Australian basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Stephanie Talbot is an Australian professional basketball player.
Alanna Smith is an Australian professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal.
Paul Goriss is an Australian basketball coach who coaches the University of Canberra Capitals. He is an assistant coach of the Australian women's national basketball team and for the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA.
Olaf Lange is an assistant coach for New York Liberty in the WNBA and for the Australian Opals National Team.