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 take the reins of the women’s basketball team.
The terms of the agreement were finalized by the Liberty executives and DeMarco’s agent.
DeMarco has been with the Warriors since 2012, performing various roles including assistant coach and player development coach, contributing to the conquest of 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 timeframe is still to be determined.
During his time with the Warriors, DeMarco managed the team’s defense and worked closely with 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.
After winning their first WNBA championship in 2024, New York seemed capable of defending the title with a 9-0 start in 2025, but injuries to Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, and other key players led the team to be eliminated in the first round of the postseason.
Upon Brondello’s departure, Kolb stated that the franchise was seeking “evolution and innovation”.
With most of the roster in free agency 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 like Stewart, Jones, and Ionescu will want to return to Brooklyn in 2026.
Ionescu contacted Steph Curry during the hiring process to ask about DeMarco.
