Sandra Anne Brondello (born 20 August 1968) is an Australian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach and former player who is the head coach of the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Confer ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA), and the Australian women's national team. Brondello played in Australia, Germany and the WNBA before retiring to become a coach. The 5’7” (1.70 m) Brondello is one of Australia's all-time best

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

s. She played on Australia's "Opals" national team at four

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

, 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 the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

in 1986–1987, and was inducted to the

Australian Basketball Hall of Fame The Australian Basketball Hall of Fame was instituted by the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1998 as the ''NBL Hall of Fame'' as part of their 20th season celebrations. The NBL initiated the Hall of Fame to recognise the outstanding players ...

in 2010.

Playing career

Brondello grew up in

Mackay, Queensland } Mackay () is a city in the Mackay Region on the eastern or Coral Sea coast of Queensland, Australia. It is located about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is described as being in either Central Queensland or North Queensland ...

, where her parents had a

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

farm. At the age of 9, she started to play basketball in a grass court her father built in the backyard Brondello's career began in Australia's

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is a professional women's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australia composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the Women's sports, women's counterpart to the Na ...

, where she was named the Australian Basketball Player of the Year in 1992. Brondello played for 10 seasons in the WNBL, reaching the playoffs on three occasions and being named

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

in 1995 as a member of the Brisbane Blazers. She also played between 1992 and 2002 in Germany for BTV Wuppertal, winning ten national championships and the 1995–96 FIBA Women's European Champions Cup. Brondello started her WNBA career in 1998 by being selected in the fourth round (34th overall) by the newly formed

Detroit Shock The Detroit Shock were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006, and 2008 WNBA champions. Debuting in 1998, the Shock were one of the league's first expansion franchises. Th ...

, becoming an All-Star in the first

WNBA All-Star Game The Women's National Basketball Association All-Star Game, commonly referred to as the WNBA All-Star Game, is an annual exhibition basketball game played in the United States between the best players of the Western and Eastern Conference of ...

in 1999. She was selected by the

Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Fever compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was founded for ...

in late 1999's

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or sports franchising, franchises. This occurs mainly in Sports in North America, North American sports and closed leagues. O ...

, but never played a game for them, being traded to the

Miami Sol The Miami Sol were a professional women's basketball team that was based in Miami and entered the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 2000. They played their games at American Airlines Arena as the sister team to the Miami Heat of the ...

along with a first-round pick for Stephanie White. After sitting out of the 2002 season due to a foot injury playing for Wuppertal during the WNBA offseason, Brondello signed as a free agent with the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team was founded by Gi ...

in 2003, joining fellow Australians

Lauren Jackson Lauren Elizabeth Jackson (born 11 May 1981) is an Australian former professional basketball player. Arguably the most notable Australian women's basketball player, Jackson has had a decorated career with the Australia women's national basketb ...

and

Tully Bevilaqua Tully Louise Bevilaqua (née Crook on 19 July 1972) is an Australian retired professional women's basketball player. She previously served as an assistant with the Phoenix Mercury in 2023. She formerly played for the San Antonio Stars in the ...

. Brondello was one of the top three-point shooters in league history, her .410 percentage ranking fourth all-time. On the Australian National Team, Brondello joined the team before the age of 18 and remained on the Opals for 17 years, and her 302 games made Brondello the third most capped Australian player, behind

Robyn Maher Robyn Maher (born 6 October 1959) is an Australian former basketball player. A three-time Olympian, she was a member of the national women's team that won the bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In the Women's Nation ...

and

Karen Dalton Karen J. Dalton (born Jean Karen Cariker; July 19, 1937 – March 19, 1993) was an American country blues singer, guitarist, and banjo player. She was associated with the early 1960s Greenwich Village folk music scene, particularly with F ...

. Brondello's tournaments with Australia include four

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, with two bronze medals, and four Olympic tournaments, with two silver medals and a bronze. Twice she sat out of the WNBA due to Olympic commitments, in 2000 and 2004. The 2004 tournament in Athens turned out to be Brondello's last major event, with her afterwards investing in a coaching career.

Coaching career

WNBA

In 2005, Brondello was named an assistant coach of the San Antonio Silver Stars. She was promoted to head coach in February 2010. In 2009 Brondello was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame. 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 manager Dan Hughes regained the title of head coach in January 2011, returning to the dual role he held before promoting Brondello. Brondello would become an assistant coach for the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Crypto.co ...

for the 2011 season. In November 2013, Brondello was hired by the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Mercury compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. One of eight original franchises, it wa ...

to replace interim coach Russ Pennell. In her inaugural 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 a Coach of the Year Award. The Mercury eventually won the 2014 WNBA Finals by sweeping the

Chicago Sky The Chicago Sky are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the 2006 season. Th ...

. In April 2017, Brondello was appointed head coach of the Australian women's basketball team, the Opals. She combines this role with her WNBA coaching duties. 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. On 7 January 2022, Brondello was officially named the head coach of

Australian National Team

Brondello became the coach of the Australian Women's national team, the Opals in 2017. At the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup held in

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, the Australian team were runner-up beaten by the US 73-56 in the final. In 2021 she coached the team at the delayed Tokyo Olympics. The team was knocked out in the quarter finals by the US. The 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup was hosted by Australia, and played in Sydney. Australia came third in the tournament, being knocked out by

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in the semi final, and winning the third place playoff against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. At the

2024 Paris Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, 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 against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Personal life

Brondello is married to Olaf Lange, who is also a basketball coach and an assistant for the Liberty. They have 2 children, Brody and Jayda.

Career playing statistics

WNBA

Source

Regular season

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Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

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Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

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Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

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Playoffs

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1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

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, 1 , , 1 , , 29.0 , , .333 , , .250 , , – , , 3.0 , , .0 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

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, 3 , , 3 , , 35.7 , , .361 , , .300 , , .833 , , 3.3 , , 2.3 , , .7 , , .0 , , 1.0 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 2 years, 2 teams , 4 , , 4 , , 34.0 , , .354 , , .286 , , .833 , , 3.3 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 1.0 , , 10.8

Head coaching record

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2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

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2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, 34 , , 29, , 5, , , , align="center" , 1st in West, , 8 , , 7 , , 1 , , , align="center" , Won

WNBA Finals The WNBA Finals is the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion of the league's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002. The series is played between the win ...

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2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, 34 , , 20, , 14, , , , align="center" , 2nd in West, , 4 , , 2 , , 2 , , , align="center" , Lost in Western Conference Finals , - , align="left" , PHO , align="left" ,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, 34 , , 16, , 18, , , , align="center" , 4th in West, , 5 , , 2 , , 3 , , , align="center" , Lost in WNBA Semi-Finals , - , align="left" , PHO , align="left" ,

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, 34 , , 18, , 16, , , , align="center" , 4th in West, , 5 , , 2 , , 3 , , , align="center" , Lost in WNBA Semi-Finals , - , align="left" , PHO , align="left" ,

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, 34 , , 20, , 14, , , , align="center" , 2nd in West, , 7 , , 4 , , 3 , , , align="center" , Lost in WNBA Semi-Finals , - , align="left" , PHO , align="left" ,

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, 34 , , 15, , 19, , , , align="center" , 5th in West, , 1 , , 0 , , 1 , , , align="center" , Lost in 1st Round , - , align="left" , PHO , align="left" ,

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, 22 , , 13 , , 9 , , , , align="center" , 5th in West, , 2 , , 1 , , 1 , , , align="center" , Lost in 2nd Round , - , align="left" , PHO , align="left" ,

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

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2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, 36 , , 16 , , 20 , , , , align="center" , 4th in East, , 3 , , 1 , , 2 , , , align="center" , Lost in 1st Round , - , align="left" , NYL , align="left" ,

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

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2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, 40 , , 32 , , 8 , , , , align="center" , 1st in East, , 11 , , 8 , , 3 , , , align="center" , Won

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References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brondello, Sandy 1968 births Sportspeople from Mackay, Queensland Living people Australian expatriate basketball people in Germany Australian expatriate basketball people in Spain Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Australian Institute of Sport basketball (WNBL) players Australian women's basketball coaches Australian women's basketball players Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Detroit Shock players Los Angeles Sparks coaches Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Miami Sol players New York Liberty coaches Olympic basketball players for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic coaches for Australia Olympic medalists in basketball Olympic silver medalists for Australia Phoenix Mercury coaches San Antonio Stars coaches Seattle Storm players Shooting guards WNBA All-Stars Women's National Basketball Association championship–winning head coaches Sportswomen from Queensland Female sports coaches Expatriate basketball coaches Coaches at the 2024 Summer Olympics 20th-century Australian sportswomen 21st-century Australian sportswomen

Playing career

Coaching career

WNBA

Australian National Team

Personal life

Career playing statistics

WNBA

Regular season

Playoffs

Head coaching record

See also

References

External links