Liberty Coach Sandy Brondello Traded in All-Star Swap
Sandy Brondello is overseeing a rebuilding team, but New York Liberty fans can rest assured that it's far from Brooklyn.
Brondello made history in more ways than one on Tuesday night: shortly before she moved into second-place on the Liberty's all-time coaching wins list, Brondello is part of what's believed to be the first coaching swap in WNBA All-Star Game history, as she will now coach the team captained and curated by Caitlin Clark rather than Napheesa Collier at the July 19 exhibition in Indianapolis.
"I've created history. This is awesome. I got traded as a coach," Brondello said with a smile on Tuesday. "I get to coach Sabrina, I get to coach Caitlin Clark and Indianapolis. What a great show, so we'll go out there and have some fun."
Brondello landed the honor, her first, by placing the Liberty in second place on the WNBA leaderboard at the Independence Day landmark. She was originally set to coach the team headlined by 2024 WNBA Finals foe and Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier but that group will now by overseen by Collier's coach Cheryl Reeve.
The swap leaves Breanna Stewart all alone in terms of Liberty representation on Collier's club, as Brondello will get to work with Clark and her own metropolitan protege Sabrina Ionescu. Stewart will still have a friend in Collier, her fellow University of Connecticut alumna and business partner who chose her first in the selection of starters.
Fellow former Husky Paige Bueckers (Dallas) likewise lingers on Collier's team as a starter but Clark prevented the latter from completing the UConn quartet when she selected Gabby Williams (Seattle) in the reserves' portion. Brondello jokingly stated that she'd try to trade for Stewart in a humorous coup of de facto general manager Clark.
"It's a time to celebrate our accomplishments, but [Brondello's] as well," Brondello's new All-Star protege Ionescu said, remarking that it'll be "weird" to go up against Stewart as an opponent. "It's not easy to be a top coach and have to go do that. I'm kind of excited to do that all together."
Clark and Collier revealed their rosters on ESPN's Tuesday edition of "WNBA Countdown" aired shortly before its coverage of the Liberty's 87-78 win over the Las Vegas Aces. The exhibition returns to a fantasy draft format in Indianapolis, one formed by the leaders in the fan vote, after the United States women's national basketball team did battle with WNBA stars in last year's game.
In addition to her involvement in the All-Star swap, Brondello broke a second-place tie with Bill Laimbeer on the Liberty coaching wins list, as Tuesday's triumph was her 93rd since her 2022 takeover. Only Richie Adubato (100) remains ahead of her.
Geoff Magliocchetti is a veteran sportswriter who contributes to a variety of sites on the "On SI" network. In addition to the Yankees/Mets, Geoff also covers the New York Knicks, New York Liberty, and New York Giants and has previously written about the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Staten Island Yankees, and NASCAR.