Liberty Stars Give No Vote of Confidence to Chris DeMarco After Playoff Sweep

The New York Liberty were swept by the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA semifinals, with their season ending on Friday night with an 85-83 loss in Game 3.

This ends a disappointing campaign for New York. They upset the No. 1-seeded Minnesota Lynx in the first round, which was an impressive feat. But finishing the regular season as the No. 8 seed then getting swept one round after beating Minnesota, cemented the fact that Chris DeMarco's first season as New York's head coach did not meet expectations.

At one point in their postgame presser, Liberty stars Jonquel Jones, Sabrina Ionescu, and Breanna Stewart were all asked whether it was their "hope" that DeMarco would return as head coach.

"I mean, you know, that's not our say. Our job is to go out there and play good basketball, and represent the organization well, represent the fan base well, and our families. I think we do a good job of focusing on that. And you know, it is what it is," Jones responded.

"Obviously, that's not our decision. And, I mean, we're thankful for everything that he's done this year. Just focusing on the now, the way he has poured into us and stayed positive [and] levelheaded through the ups and downs of this season, that didn't go the way that he wanted either," Ionescu added.

"And so, I don't know what's going to happen. Regardless, thankful for him coaching us this year and obviously giving us a chance, and we just fell short," she continued.

"Yeah. I think it's just tough to talk or think about that right now. Echoing what they said, those decisions aren't ours. But I think my focus, and what I'm thinking about right now, is just [a] missed opportunity, you know what I mean?" Stewart then said.

Q "How would you evaluate Chris DeMarco's system…?

Sab "That's a really tough question to answer rn
…
Q "Is it your hope & belief Chris returns as head coach?

JJ "I mean y'know that's not our say. Our job is to play good basketball, represent…It is what it is

Sab "Yeah…Not… pic.twitter.com/y6KnsgZtAZ
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) October 10, 2026

Liberty Stars' Silence About Chris DeMarco's Future Speaks Volumes

As one can see, none of the three Liberty stars defended DeMarco or said outright that they hope he'll be back coaching the team next season.

DeMarco, who said that he expected to remain as the Liberty head coach during his own presser, surely would have preferred to hear his three best players be more staunch in their defense of the work he did this year.

That seems to speak volumes about how these stars really viewed this season, and feels like as much of a criticism of DeMarco as one can expect when players are speaking publicly.

DeMarco made a big mistake by not knowing whether he had a reset timeout during Game 2, which contributed to the Liberty's loss in that contest. This mistake loomed large at the time.

And with them now getting swept by the Dream, combined with these players' response to the question of his future, that mistake from DeMarco seems indicative of a broader trend that would appear to put his job in question.

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