Sandy Brondello is an Australian basketball legend, both as a player and coach. She played for the Aussie Opals at the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Olympics, winning two silvers and one bronze medal. Brondello also won two bronze medals at the 1998 and 2002 World Cup and competed at the 1990 and 1994 editions of what was then called the World Championships.
In club play, Brondello played in the Australian Women’s National Basketball League for 10 years (1986-96), being named Australian Basketball Player of the Year in 1992, and was league MVP in 1995 as a member of the Brisbane Blazers. She also played in Germany from 1992-2002 for BTV Wuppertal, leading them to 10 consecutive national championships. Brondello played in the WNBA in the United States from 1998-2003, making the first WNBA All-Star Game in 1999, and finishing her career with a career three-point percentage of .410, at the time the fourth best in league history.
Brondello retired as a player after the 2004 Olympics and went into coaching. She became assistant coach of the San Antonio Silver Stars in 2005 and became head coach in 2010. She was fired after one season but in 2013 was named head coach of the Phoenix Mercury and led them to the WNBA title in 2014, being named WNBA Coach of the Year. She left the Mercury after the 2021 season and shortly thereafter named coach of the New York Liberty in the WNBA. Brondello was named the coach of the Australian women’s team in 2017. She was inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
Australia