Shortly after the New York Liberty were knocked out in a 2-1 playoff series against the Phoenix Mercury, the team announced that head coach Sandy Brondello was out. Given that she’s never missed the playoffs in 13 WNBA seasons, a streak no other coach can match, the move came as a shock. In just four years with the Liberty, Brondello racked up a 107-53 record, becoming the winningest coach in franchise history. With achievements like that and little explanation from the team, it’s no surprise fans and analysts are buzzing about what really happened.

‘WNBA on NBC’ hosts Natalie Esquire and Owen Pence recently discussed the Liberty’s decision to part ways with Sandy Brondello. Having covered her since she joined the team, Pence called her “a phenomenal human being” and felt lucky to interact with her daily. Still, as he noted, “I think there was a consensus amongst people in the know that if the Liberty had not won the title last year, Sandy was probably out. And I don’t have direct sources, so don’t, you know, pin me on that.” He also added that, despite last season’s success, Brondello was simply outcoached this year.

“I think that maybe the sentiment is that when Sandy Brondello would run up against a Cheryl Reeve, or a Becky Hammond, or even Nate Tibbetts in the first round this year, she might have been at a little bit of a disadvantage. Perhaps she was getting out coached. And I think if you’re the front office and you see this Liberty roster, which still has a title window very very open, you simply have to choose a coach who is going to give you the best chance to win moving forward,” said Pence.

He further gave the answer to many people’s surprise, adding, “And if they did not believe that Sandy Brondello was that person, then as bold and risky and wild as this might be, you got to make the move”.

With that lens, you can make a case that Sandy Brondello’s tenure with the Liberty ended amid a clear case against her coaching approach, one that convinced owners Joe and Clara Wu Tsai. Even after reaching the 2023 Finals, her team was convincingly outplayed by an Aces squad missing key players. The following season, the Liberty scraped by against Reeve’s Lynx, showing persistent struggles despite a roster full of talent.

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Sure, 2024 happened, but then came 2025, and that one winning year seemed like a fluke to many. Many noted that the Liberty often relied on their star players, Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and Jonquel Jones, to create offense on their own. For the playoffs, Brondello reportedly refused to trust the bench the front office had built in the offseason. Injuries only partly explain the team’s inconsistencies. Repeated breakdowns in after-timeout plays and ineffective halftime adjustments suggested Brondello was frequently outmaneuvered by opposing coaches.

For the Tsais, the emphasis was always on winning. According to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou, “Liberty brass considered nothing short of a championship to be a success this season“. That makes sense when you have such a talented roster and when, in today’s WNBA, where investment and competition are growing, teams are setting higher benchmarks, and coaching changes have become a more frequent response to underperformance.

So, Sandy Brondello simply must not have been up to the task. This may or may not have contributed to the fatigue that was clearly visible to two reporters.

Alicia Jay and Erica Ayala Cite Player Fatigue as Factor in Sandy Brondello’s Exit

WNBA reporters Alicia Jay and Erica Ayala discussed Sandy Brondello’s firing during a recent segment of the ‘We Need to Talk’ podcast. During the segment, they highlighted that the New York market has set a high standard and that, for their teams, nothing short of a championship matters. This was seen after the Knicks’ 2024-25 season run, and head coach Tom Thibodeau was fired even though he led the Knicks to their first Conference Semi-Finals since 2000.

To Erica Ayala, the Liberty was “a team that was struggling so mightily [with] as many injuries as they did. Both Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart have missed 13 consecutive games. I mean, that’s huge. That’s decimating their back court.” While Jonquel Jones and Brenna Stewart eventually recovered physically, the mental part was another thing.

“I do think that mental fatigue can come from physical fatigue or just working yourself back. Even if you’re cleared physically. That doesn’t always mean that your mind and body are connected in that you can execute in the way you were able to pre-injury. So, I just want to leave space for that,” said Ayala.

There was a mental barrier, and Sandy Brondello reportedly failed to address it. After all, as Ayala added, “This team was not rebounding particularly well early on. They were having trouble at the free-throw line. We saw some players missing easy shots and baskets. To me, that pointed to a lot of fatigue. Now, while none of those things are quite literally in the final control of the coach, we do know that those are things that can get a coach dismissed, and that seems to be the case here with New York”.

What do you think was the true cause of Sandy Brondello’s exit? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below.