 Brondello with theNew York Liberty in 2024 | |
| Toronto Tempo | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| League | WNBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1968-08-20)20 August 1968 (age 57) Mackay, Queensland, Australia |
| Listed height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Listed weight | 136 lb (62 kg) |
| Career information | |
| WNBA draft | 1998: 4th round, 34th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Detroit Shock |
| Playing career | 1992–2004 |
| Position | Shooting guard |
| Number | 6 |
| Coaching career | 2005–present |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1998–1999 | Detroit Shock |
| 2001–2002 | Miami Sol |
| 2003 | Seattle Storm |
Coaching | |
| 2005–2009 | San Antonio Silver Stars (assistant) |
| 2010 | San Antonio Silver Stars |
| 2011–2013 | Los Angeles Sparks (assistant) |
| 2014–2021 | Phoenix Mercury |
| 2017–2025 | Australia |
| 2022–2025 | New York Liberty |
| 2026–present | Toronto Tempo |
| Career highlights | |
As player:
As coach: | |
| Stats at WNBA.com | |
Stats atBasketball Reference  | |
Medals | |
Sandra Anne Brondello (born 20 August 1968) is an Australian professionalbasketball coach and former professional basketball player. She is the head coach of theAustralian women's national team[1] and the inaugural head coach of theToronto Tempo of theWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Brondello played in Australia, Germany and theWNBA before retiring to become a coach. The 5’7” (1.70 m) Brondello is one of Australia's all-time bestshooting guards. She played on Australia's "Opals" national team at fourSummer Olympics, has coached the team at two more, and won three medals (one bronze, two silvers) as a player and one bronze medal as a coach. She attended theAustralian Institute of Sport in 1986–1987,[2] and was inducted to theAustralian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.[3]
Brondello grew up inMackay, Queensland, where her parents had asugar cane farm. At the age of 9, she started to play basketball in a grass court her father built in the backyard[4][5] Brondello's career began in Australia'sWomen's National Basketball League, where she was named the Australian BasketballPlayer of the Year in 1992. Brondello played for 10 seasons in the WNBL, reaching the playoffs on three occasions and being namedMost Valuable Player in 1995 as a member of theBrisbane Blazers. She also played between 1992 and 2002 in Germany forBTV Wuppertal, winning ten national championships and the1995–96 FIBA Women's European Champions Cup.[3]
Brondello started herWNBA career in 1998 by being selected in the fourth round (34th overall) by the newly formedDetroit Shock, becoming an All-Star in the firstWNBA All-Star Game in 1999. During the2000 expansion draft on December 15, 1999, Brondello was selected by theIndiana Fever.[6] She was then traded to theMiami Sol (along with a 2000 first-round draft pick) in exchange forStephanie White.[7] After sitting out of the 2002 season due to a foot injury playing for Wuppertal during the WNBA offseason,[8] Brondello signed as a free agent with theSeattle Storm in 2003, joining fellow AustraliansLauren Jackson andTully Bevilaqua. Brondello was one of the top three-point shooters in league history, her .410 percentage ranking fourth all-time.[9]
On theAustralian National Team, Brondello joined the team before the age of 18 and remained on the Opals for 17 years,[5] and her 302 games made Brondello the third most capped Australian player, behindRobyn Maher andKaren Dalton. Brondello's tournaments with Australia include fourWorld Championships, with two bronze medals, and fourOlympic tournaments, with two silver medals and a bronze.[3] Twice she sat out of the WNBA due to Olympic commitments, in 2000 and 2004.[4][10] The 2004 tournament in Athens turned out to be Brondello's last major event, with her afterwards investing in a coaching career.[5]
In 2005, Brondello was named an assistant coach of theSan Antonio Silver Stars. She was promoted to head coach in February 2010.[11]
In 2009 Brondello was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame.[12]
Brondello and her husband, associate head coach Olaf Lange, were fired by the Silver Stars in September 2010. Brondello finished her only season as head coach with a 14–20 record, third best in the Western Conference. They were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by Phoenix two games to none. General managerDan Hughes regained the title of head coach in January 2011, returning to the dual role he held before promoting Brondello.[13][14] Brondello would become an assistant coach for theLos Angeles Sparks for the 2011 season.
In November 2013, Brondello was hired by thePhoenix Mercury to replace interim coachRuss Pennell.[15] In herinaugural season, Brondello led the Mercury – which featured a former Opals teammate,Penny Taylor – to the league's top record and highest single-season win total in WNBA history, with 29 wins and 5 losses, earning her aCoach of the Year Award.[16] The Mercury eventually won the2014 WNBA Finals by sweeping theChicago Sky.[17]
In April 2017, Brondello was appointed head coach of theAustralian women's basketball team, the Opals. She combines this role with her WNBA coaching duties.[18]
On 6 December 2021, the Phoenix Mercury announced that the team and head coach Sandy Brondello had mutually agreed to part ways and that her contract, which expired after the 2021 season, would not be renewed.[19]
On 7 January 2022, Brondello was officially named the head coach ofNew York Liberty.[20]
On 20 October 2024, Brondello took the New York Liberty to their firstWNBA finals championship.
On 23 September 2025, the Liberty announced they were not renewing Brondello's contract.[21]
On 4 November 2025, theToronto Tempo announced the hiring of Sandy Brondello as the team’s first Head Coach.[22]
Brondello became the coach of theAustralian Women's national team, the Opals in 2017.
At the2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup held inTenerife inSpain, the Australian team were runner-up beaten by theUS 73-56 in the final.[23]
In 2021, she coached the team at the delayedTokyo Olympics. The team was knocked out in the quarter finals by the US.[24]
The2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup was hosted by Australia, and played in Sydney. Australia came third in the tournament, being knocked out byChina in the semi final, and winning the third place playoff againstCanada.[25]
At the2024 Paris Olympics, the Australian team won the bronze medal, the team's first Olympic medal since a bronze in 2012. They were beaten by the US in a semi final, and won the third place playoff againstBelgium.[26]
In February 2025, her contract with the Australian team was renewed through to the 2028 Olympics.[1]
Brondello is married toOlaf Lange, who is also a basketball coach and an assistant for the Liberty.[27] They have 2 children, Brody and Jayda.
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
Source[28]
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Detroit | 30° | 28 | 33.1 | .428 | .364 | .923 | 2.9 | 3.3 | 1.3 | .0 | 2.1 | 14.2 |
| 1999 | Detroit | 32° | 32° | 31.3 | .438 | .487 | .847 | 2.1 | 2.3 | .8 | .2 | 2.3 | 13.3 |
| 2001 | Miami | 29 | 29 | 29.3 | .413 | .394 | .814 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 1.0 | .1 | 1.3 | 12.7 |
| 2002 | Miami | 30 | 23 | 25.4 | .365 | .318 | .821 | 1.4 | 1.5 | .9 | .1 | 1.3 | 8.8 |
| 2003 | Seattle | 34° | 34° | 28.7 | .415 | .438 | .806 | 1.6 | 2.0 | .9 | .1 | 1.1 | 8.2 |
| Career | 5 years, 3 teams | 155 | 146 | 29.6 | .414 | .410 | .854 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 1.0 | .1 | 1.6 | 11.4 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Detroit | 1 | 1 | 29.0 | .333 | .250 | – | 3.0 | .0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 9.0 |
| 2001 | Miami | 3 | 3 | 35.7 | .361 | .300 | .833 | 3.3 | 2.3 | .7 | .0 | 1.0 | 11.3 |
| Career | 2 years, 2 teams | 4 | 4 | 34.0 | .354 | .286 | .833 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 1.0 | .3 | 1.0 | 10.8 |
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAS | 2010 | 34 | 14 | 20 | .412 | 3rd in West | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | Lost inWestern Conference Semi-Finals |
| PHO | 2014 | 34 | 29 | 5 | .853 | 1st in West | 8 | 7 | 1 | .875 | WonWNBA Finals |
| PHO | 2015 | 34 | 20 | 14 | .588 | 2nd in West | 4 | 2 | 2 | .500 | Lost inWestern Conference Finals |
| PHO | 2016 | 34 | 16 | 18 | .457 | 4th in West | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | Lost inWNBA Semi-Finals |
| PHO | 2017 | 34 | 18 | 16 | .529 | 4th in West | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | Lost inWNBA Semi-Finals |
| PHO | 2018 | 34 | 20 | 14 | .588 | 2nd in West | 7 | 4 | 3 | .571 | Lost inWNBA Semi-Finals |
| PHO | 2019 | 34 | 15 | 19 | .441 | 5th in West | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost in1st Round |
| PHO | 2020 | 22 | 13 | 9 | .591 | 5th in West | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost in2nd Round |
| PHO | 2021 | 32 | 19 | 13 | .594 | 4th in West | 11 | 6 | 5 | .545 | Lost inWNBA Finals |
| NYL | 2022 | 36 | 16 | 20 | .444 | 4th in East | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | Lost in1st Round |
| NYL | 2023 | 40 | 32 | 8 | .800 | 1st in East | 10 | 6 | 4 | .600 | Lost inWNBA Finals |
| NYL | 2024 | 40 | 32 | 8 | .800 | 1st in East | 11 | 8 | 3 | .727 | WonWNBA Finals |
| NYL | 2025 | 44 | 27 | 17 | .614 | 2nd in East | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | Lost in1st Round |
| Career | 450 | 269 | 181 | .598 | 72 | 40 | 32 | .556 |
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