The New York Liberty have agreed to a deal to hire longtime Golden State Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco as their new head coach, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Friday.
Liberty officials and DeMarco’s agent, Brian Elfus, finalized the terms on the deal Friday.
DeMarco, a holdover from the Mark Jackson era, has been with the Warriors since 2012 serving in a variety of roles including assistant coach and player development coach while helping the team win four NBA titles. He also has been the head coach of the Bahamian senior men’s national team since 2019.
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DeMarco managed the Warriors’ defense and worked closely with Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole during their time in the Bay Area.
Among the other candidates considered by the Liberty were former Brooklyn Nets assistant Will Weaver, former WNBA champion and current Phoenix Mercury associate head coach Kristi Toliver, and Toronto Raptors assistant Jama Mahlalela.
The Liberty are one of five WNBA teams to make a head coaching hire this offseason. Predecessor Sandy Brondello’s contract expired in September. The Portland Fire (Alex Sarama) and Seattle Storm (Sonia Raman) similarly chose coaches who had NBA backgrounds.
“We need to nail this,” Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb said in September of the new hire. “If we’re going to make a bold decision like this, our players deserve to get the best, and so we’ll take the time necessary.”
After winning its first WNBA championship in 2024, New York looked capable of a title defense with a 9-0 start in 2025 before injuries struck stars Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart and several others, and the team bowed out of the postseason in the first round.
At the time of Brondello’s departure, Kolb said the franchise was looking for “evolution and innovation” and asking, “How do we position ourselves to be at the top of the league in a real sustainable way as the league evolves?”
Brondello, who was with the team for four seasons, has since said she believed the alignment was off between her and Liberty leadership and indicated there was a lack of partnership. She was officially hired as the first coach of the expansion Toronto Tempo earlier this month.
With most of the roster hitting free agency this offseason as players await a new collective bargaining agreement, New York has just two players under contract: Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally. But Kolb said he has the “utmost confidence” that stars Stewart, Jones and 2020 No. 1 draft pick Sabrina Ionescu will want to return to Brooklyn in 2026.
