Sandy Brondello Is Building Toronto’s WNBA Future

When you talk to Sandy Brondello long enough you get to learn that uphill challenges don’t phase her. It’s quite the opposite. It’s almost like she’s inviting them to come at her.

The 57-year-old has a long history of meeting new challenges head on. An obstacle for her is merely an opportunity to impart her values, assert her standards, and teach good people to do great things.

Consider this:

When Brondello joined the WNBA with pick 34 by the Detroit Shock in 1998, she had to adapt not just her game, but adjust to a completely different basketball culture. She responded by finishing 10th in the league’s MVP count in 1999, averaging 13.3 points per game with 48.7 percent shooting from outside the arc and was selected as an All-Star in the league’s inaugural All-Star Game.

When she shifted her career to coaching, she became an icon. Brondello won championships with two different franchises – New York and Phoenix – making her one of two coaches in league history to achieve that feat. She is also ranked sixth all-time for career wins (271) and games coached (452) in the WNBA.

She won a bronze medal with her Australian Opals on the international stage at the 2024 Paris Olympics, making it a drought-breaking return to the podium in more than a decade.

Now, Brondello is staring down the barrel of arguably her biggest test yet: building a competitive roster and leading Canada’s first WNBA expansion franchise in Toronto. The Australian native isn’t here to fill out the league’s quota of teams either. She is chasing sustainable success built the right way.

“I’ve been in this league for such a long time in some many different roles and now it was like ‘what was next for me’” she said. “And honestly I could have gone a different way, but I just felt like this is the right challenge for me.”

In the months ahead, Brondello’s to-do list looks long and her roster sheet is empty but her and her leadership team – composed of President Teresa Resch, General Manager Monica Wright Rogers and backed by high profile owners including Larry Tanenbaum, Serena Williams and Geoff Molson – will be controlling what they can control.

When the roster takes shape, they can set the vision. To build culture in Brondello’s style, she will be searching for players that are rooted in integrity: glue players with no agenda and players that are coachable pros who lift the room. More than anything, Brondello can’t wait to start building those relationships once the roster is real.

“I think the deeper the connections and the cohesiveness of the group off the court it certainly does help it on the court,” said Brondello. “You can handle any kind of conflict and adversity that you do face along the way and we will face adversity. But I think if you have a really strong culture, you can overcome them way quicker.”

Since the league launched in 1997, the WNBA has added 11 expansion teams; Toronto will be the 12th. History shows how much of a steep climb it can be. Expansion rosters are hard to construct and most teams have spent years in the trenches before breaking out. In the last two decades, only one team has posted a winning record for their inaugural year: the Golden State Valkyries who debuted last year with 23-21 and a playoff berth. Brondello knows the math. She wants a competitive team that will start strong in 2026. The Valkyries have shown what’s possible.

WHY PLAYERS BELIEVE IN BRONDELLO

Decorated Australian hooper Lauren Jackson, a three-time WNBA MVP, first met Brondello when she was 15 years-old at first Australian Opals basketball camp. Jackson remembers being a scared teen walking into a national program. Brondello, her then teammate, put her arm around her, became a mentor and started sending her letters, calling her at home, and made her feel part of the squad.

“Ever since then Sandy has been like a big sister to me. She’s a pretty special human,” she said. “In talking about culture, she embodies it. She’s definitely strong and has to make tough calls. Sandy won’t tolerate people who think they are bigger than the team. But I think it’s in the way she handles all of her relationships with integrity and honesty.”

Tess Madgen, former Opals captain, said Brondello will make tough calls for the good of the team. Madgen remembers being cut from the team after the 2018 World Cup silver medal. The brutal feedback from Brondello: be a better three-point shooter. Madgen responded with a best-in-class performance at the 2022 World Cup, shooting 55.6 percent at the tournament for three pointers, and backed it up again at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“Her beliefs and her sticking to her beliefs is what makes her such a great coach,” she said. “And it doesn’t matter who you are. If you’re not doing it, you will sit on the bench.”

No matter who you speak to about Brondello, they all land on the same thing: she knows how to connect with people. The calls, the texts, the check-ins. It’s a consistent flow of outreach borne from care. She’s been described as a player’s coach and “the most consistent person I’ve ever met”. Others in basketball might see this as strategy, but it’s just Brondello being herself. Her authenticity is her superpower and that’s how she’s able to shape behaviour.

A former executive in the WNBA told me that Brondello thrives with younger, start-up teams. “It’s a great situation for her. No-one is more prepared than Sandy Brondello. She will work her tail off and be prepared for anything that might happen.”

WHERE TORONTO GOES FROM HERE

With the potential for an unprecedented amount of free agents on the table for the Tempo to sift through and analyze, Toronto’s General Manager Monica Wright Rogers believes authenticity in the pitch in the coming months will be vital to attract new talent to the city.

“We want to ensure we’re always creating an edge for being the best team in the league in all facets,” Wright-Rogers said. “We’re bringing the WNBA to Canada, not just Toronto. So the entire country is behind us and supporting us. It means everything .We don’t take this responsibility lightly.”

Whoever joins the Toronto Tempo basketball club will have to understand that Brondello has worked her entire life for this moment and will demand absolute commitment to all parts of Brondello Ball and what lies ahead. Asking her what keeps her up at night, she says she’s aware of the uncertainty and the unknowns but she’s not drowning in it. To her, it’s just another challenge to prepare for.

“We want to win but it’s also about the journey as well. And that’s important for me,” she said. “I’ll come and bring my authentic self and people will see the joy that we will play with. In the end it really is a game. And hopefully in the process we can win and have success together.”

Next year, history will be made as the Toronto Tempo runs out together for the first time at the Coca Cola Coliseum. Wright-Rogers believes this first step will shape more than just basketball.

“She’s without a doubt one of the best coaches in the world,” Wright-Rogers said. “This piece in her entire body of work will reflect that her legacy is going to be instilled into the history books of women’s sports here in Canada.”