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. Since 2019, he has also been the head coach of the Bahamas 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.
DeMarco managed the Warriors’ defense and worked closely with Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole during his time on the team.
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 made a head coach appointment this offseason. Predecessor Sandy Brondello’s contract 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 Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, and other key players led to the team’s elimination in the first round of the postseason.
At the time of Brondello’s departure, Kolb said 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 alignment between her and Liberty’s management.
With most of the players on the roster becoming free agents this offseason, as they await a new collective bargaining agreement, New York only has two players under contract: Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally. However, Kolb said he has the “utmost confidence” that stars 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.
