Sandy Brondello entered last season of the Women’s National Basketball Association as coach of the reigning champions, the New York Liberty. One year on, Brondello, who is also coach of the Australian women’s team, the Opals, is in a very different place.
So different that she’s in a new country, coaching a new franchise – the Toronto Tempos – in their inaugural season in the WNBA.
“It’s been a blur,” she said on a phone call from her new home in Canada.
The Tempos are one of two expansion teams added to the league, now in its 30th season which returns on Saturday (AEST).
The 57-year-old is one of just two WNBA coaches to win two championships with two different teams: the Phoenix Mercury in 2014 and the Liberty in 2024. Brondello is also the only Australian head coach in the North American league, the world’s premier women’s basketball competition.
But even though Brondello steered the Liberty to the 2024 championship, and become the first and only coach in their 30-year history to do so, she left the franchise in September in a shock to many.
Her time as a free agent was short-lived and two months later, Brondello was announced as coach of the Tempo, Canada’s first professional women’s basketball team.
“We’re making history and we want to make the most of it,” she said.
On top of moving to a new country, and working with new owners, one of whom is Serena Williams, Brondello only had two weeks to make her team. That’s because the players association and WNBA administrators only just signed a collective bargaining agreement after a dramatic year of negotiations.
“This is a different challenge than what I’ve had in the past to establish teams but I’m excited,” she said. “I’ve only been here a few weeks to be quite honest, but it’s a real vibe. Real passionate fans, like Australians, but they’re really supportive and very loud.”
Although they’re unlikely to win a championship in their first season, Brondello is set on taking the Tempos to the finals soon so that she can become the first coach in WNBA history to win three championships with three different teams.
“It’s about building a winning culture at the beginning. So I know what that looks like because I spent so much time on the Opals doing it and obviously in New York, but it’s just developing those relationships, because a lot of those players I haven’t coached.”
One of her Opals, Jade Melbourne, is days away from entering her fourth season in the WNBA at just 23. Having signed a one-year contract with the Seattle Storm worth $US500,000, this is also the first year she’s not at risk of being waived by her team before getting under way. Two of her teammates haven’t been so lucky.
“We made our final cuts to the roster today. So it was kind of bittersweet because it was exciting for the team but also sad because those two girls were pretty cool and you get to know them through camp,” she said.
Franchises have up until the final day of pre-season to finalise their rosters. Several Australians have already been waived but 10 are still set to play.
“It’s the first time in a while that we’ve had double digits – if not the first time ever – Australians playing,” Melbourne said.
“I feel like over the past two years, the momentum in the WNBA has been huge. I certainly felt a jump from my first year to the second year and I think everyone’s just ridden that momentum … It’s a super exciting time for women’s basketball and Australians are thriving over here.”
Although Melbourne is preparing for her season with the Storm, at the back of her mind is the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in September. Every league game against American rivals is a chance to prepare for her next game in the Opals jersey.
“Representing your country at a national tournament, or just any time you get the opportunity to put on the green and gold – that’s the highest honour for me. That was always my first goal,” she said.
The WNBA also provides extra chances for Melbourne to prove herself to Brondello when their paths cross during the season.
“My career high still to this day is 21 points [against Brondello’s Liberty side] and it was about a month before we went to Paris and the team hadn’t been announced yet and it was my final showcase to try and get on that team. So we joke about it, that I always play my best games against Sandy,” she said.
