Chris DeMarco, New Coach of the New York Liberty
The New York Liberty have reached an agreement to hire Chris DeMarco as their new head coach. DeMarco, with a long history as an assistant with the Golden State Warriors, takes over the leadership of the women’s basketball team. The agreement was finalized on Friday between Liberty executives and DeMarco’s agent, Brian Elfus. DeMarco, who has been with the Warriors since 2012, has held various roles, including assistant coach and player development coach, contributing to the acquisition of four NBA titles. Since 2019, he has also been the head coach of the Bahamas men’s national basketball team. Although DeMarco will continue on the Warriors’ bench in the short term, he is expected to join the Liberty at some point during the season. An exact date for his joining has not yet been determined. During his time with the Warriors, DeMarco managed the team’s defense and worked closely with players like Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole. Among the other candidates considered by the Liberty were Will Weaver, former assistant of the Brooklyn Nets; Kristi Toliver, former WNBA champion and current associate coach of the Phoenix Mercury; and Jama Mahlalela, assistant of the Toronto Raptors. The Liberty are one of the five WNBA teams that have hired a head coach this offseason. The previous coach, Sandy Brondello’s, contract expired in September. The Portland Fire (Alex Sarama) and the Seattle Storm (Sonia Raman) have also opted for coaches with NBA experience.After winning their first WNBA championship in 2024, New York looked capable of defending the title with a 9-0 start in 2025, before injuries affected stars like Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart and several others, and the team was eliminated from the postseason in the first round. At the time of Brondello’s departure, Kolb said the franchise was seeking “evolution and innovation” and asked: “How do we position ourselves to be at the top of the league in a truly sustainable way as the league evolves?” Brondello, who was with the team for four seasons, has said that she believed there wasn’t a good connection between her and Liberty’s management, and indicated that collaboration was lacking. She was officially hired as the first coach of the expansion Toronto Tempo earlier this month. With most of the roster becoming free agents this offseason, pending a new collective bargaining agreement, New York only has two players under contract: veterans Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally. However, Kolb expressed his “utmost confidence” that stars Stewart, Jones, and 2020 draft No. 1 pick Sabrina Ionescu will want to return to Brooklyn in 2026. Ionescu contacted Warriors star Steph Curry during the recruitment process to ask about DeMarco, according to a source.“We need to get this right,” said Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb in September, referring to the hiring. “If we’re going to make a bold decision like this, our players deserve the best, and that’s why we’ll take the time we need.”
Jonathan Kolb
