NEW YORK (AP) — Sandy Brondello doesn't know if she'll be emotional on the sideline when she makes her first appearance in New York since the Liberty let her go after last season.
The coach, who led the franchise to its first WNBA championship in 2024, now leads the expansion Toronto Tempo.
“I have so many great friendships here and that’s not going to change just because I coach a different team,” Brondello said.
She went 123-64 during her four years
leading the franchise after arriving in 2022. But a first-round exit in the playoffs last season led to general manager Jonathan Kolb making a change.
“One door closes, another one opens,” Brondello said. “I've enjoyed it here, but I'm embracing my new role too tonight. Maybe a little bit different, I don't know. I don't know who loves me and who hates me. So we'll see.”
Star Breanna Stewart hopes that her former coach gets the ovation she deserves.
“Knowing that she was a part of the group that brought this franchise’s first championship, that’s something where she’ll always be etched in the books here in New York and in Brooklyn specifically,” Stewart said. “I just hope she gets a warm welcome, and it’ll be good to see her.”
This isn't the first time that Brondello has come back to coach against a former team she helped lead to a title. She won a championship in Phoenix in 2014 — her first year with the team. That wasn't the franchise's first title. She was let go by the organization in 2021 before coming to New York.
Now she has a new challenge with Toronto as the first franchise outside of the U.S. has gotten off to a solid start and has the same 5-4 record as the Liberty.
Brondello isn't the only former franchise member returning Wednesday night as her husband Olaf Lange, who was an assistant on the Liberty has the same role with the Tempo.
Nyara Sabally was chosen in the expansion draft by the Tempo and she was instrumental in the decisive Game 5 of the WNBA Finals in 2024.
“I have obviously really good memories here in this gym with the fans,” Sabally said. “I mean, they’ve they’ve always been so amazing. So, it’s going to be just a nice welcoming moment.”
Sabally hung out with her sister Satou, who plays for New York now, when she got to town.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
