Liberty's Sandy Brondello to Coach in All-Star Game
New York Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello has officially caught All-Star fever.
Brondello will join her metropolitan proteges Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart at the WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis later this month, as she and Finals foe and Minnesota Lynx boss Cheryl Reeve have been named the head coach for the July 19 exhibition at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Ironically enough, Brondello is said to be coaching the team that will be captained by Lynx franchise face Napheesa Collier. Reeve, on the other hand, will lead the group curated by local Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark, who earned the captaincies with the best output among fan votes.
The WNBA All-Star Game will return to a "fantasy" draft format after W stars defeated the United States women's national basketball team in last year's edition in Phoenix just before the Paris Olympics. Clark and Collier will pick from a list of 20 women, with Ionescu and Stewart already among the starters.
Brondello and Reeve each earned the honor after their respective squads sit atop the WNBA standings at the Independence Day landmark. Their squads previously did battle in last fall's WNBA Finals, which saw the Liberty earned a 3-2 victory in the best-of-five set to secure the first postseason title in franchise history.
While Reeve of the league-leading Lynx had the honor secured going into Thursday night, Brondello earned her title with the Liberty's 89-79 triumph over the Los Angeles Sparks and the Phoenix Mercury's loss in Dallas. Had the Mercury prevailed, the honor would've gone to desert boss Nate Tibbets.
This will be the first time Brondello sits at the helm of an All-Star Game. Thursday proved to be a historic night for Brondello in more ways than one: the win over the Sparks was her 92nd in seafoam, which ties her with Bill Laimbeer for second-most in franchise history. Richie Adubato is the all-time leader with 100.
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.