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, who served as an assistant for the Golden State Warriors for a long time, finalized the terms of the agreement with the Liberty’s executives. DeMarco has been with the Warriors since 2012, performing various roles including assistant coach and player development coach, while helping the team win four NBA titles. Since 2019, he has also been the head coach of the Bahamas men’s national basketball team. Although DeMarco will be on the Warriors’ bench in the near future, he is expected to join the Liberty at some point this season. The exact schedule is yet to be determined. During his time at Golden State, DeMarco took charge of 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 five WNBA teams that have hired a head coach this offseason. The contract of predecessor Sandy Brondello expired in September.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 the alignment between her and the Liberty’s management was not the right one and indicated that there was a lack of partnership. Subsequently, she was officially hired as the first coach of the expansion team Toronto Tempo earlier this month. With most of the roster becoming free agents this offseason, as players await a new collective bargaining agreement, New York only has two players under contract: veterans Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally. However, Kolb said he has the “utmost confidence” that stars Stewart, Jones, and 2020 No. 1 draft 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.“We need to get this right. If we’re going to make a bold decision like this, our players deserve the best, so we’ll take the time we need.”
Jonathan Kolb, General Manager of the Liberty
