New York Liberty hire Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco as head coach, AP source says

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 an NBA background, 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.

It’s unclear how long the 40-year-old DeMarco will remain with the Warriors as the WNBA season doesn’t begin potentially until April. The league and its players are currently locked in tension-filled collective bargaining agreement negotiations.

He’s the third coach that Kolb has hired in his six-year tenure with the Liberty. New York, like nearly every other team, has most of its roster as free agents, but Kolb said after the season he expected the core of Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones back.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball