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, will bring his experience to the team. The terms of the agreement were finalized on Friday by Liberty executives and DeMarco’s agent, Brian Elfus. DeMarco has been with the Warriors since 2012, performing various roles, including assistant coach and player development coach. During his time in Golden State, the team won four NBA titles. In addition to his work in the NBA, DeMarco has been the head coach of the Bahamas national basketball team since 2019. Although DeMarco will remain on the Warriors’ bench in the short term, he is expected to join the Liberty at some point this season. The exact date of his joining has not yet been determined. DeMarco was in charge of the Warriors’ defense and worked closely with players like Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole during his time on the team. Other candidates considered by the Liberty included Will Weaver, former assistant with the Brooklyn Nets; Kristi Toliver, former WNBA champion and current associate coach with the Phoenix Mercury; and Jama Mahlalela, assistant with the Toronto Raptors. The Liberty are one of the five WNBA teams that have hired a head coach this offseason. The contract of the previous coach, Sandy Brondello, expired in September.After winning their first WNBA championship in 2024, New York seemed capable of defending the title with a 9-0 start in 2025. However, injuries to stars like Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, and others, prevented the team from advancing in the postseason. At the time of Brondello’s departure, Kolb stated that the franchise was seeking “evolution and innovation.” Brondello, who was with the team for four seasons, has stated that she believed there was not a good connection between her and the Liberty’s management. Brondello was officially hired as the first coach of the Toronto Tempo earlier this month. With most players becoming free agents this offseason, awaiting a new collective bargaining agreement, New York only has two players under contract: Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally. However, Kolb expressed his “utmost confidence” that stars like Stewart, Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu will want to return to Brooklyn in 2026. Ionescu contacted Steph Curry during the hiring 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
