Head Coaches Sandy Brondello And Becky Hammon Make WNBA History!

History is being made during the 2023 WNBA Finals! 

As the No. 1 seed Las Vegas Aces go up against the No. 2 seed New York Liberty, the coaches will make WNBA history as the first former players to meet as head coaches for the championship. 

The highly anticipated best-of-five Finals series begins on Sunday in Las Vegas.

It's a first for the WNBA as two former players meet in the Finals as head coaches. New York Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello and Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon competed together and against each other as players and will now compete as coaches.

“We have a lot of mutual respect. I coached Becky and she was one of the smartest players around,” Brondello said, according to Newsday. 

“Let’s have a fun time and see where it goes. We’ll compete but have great sportsmanship, hopefully it’s great basketball.” 

Brondello and Hammon not only competed against each other as players in the WNBA, they also tried to win a championship together in San Antonio. Both have won titles as coaches, but there’s more riding on this win. The Aces are hoping to become the first team to win back-to-back championships since the Los Angeles Sparks did it in 2001-02, and the Liberty are hoping for their first ever championship win. 

“I think Sandy’s a very much big-picture kind of head coach and Olaf [her husband, an assistant with the Liberty] is this behind-the-scenes tactician, so they work really well,” Hammon said. “They’re still running some plays that we did at San Antonio. Hopefully, those ones don’t sneak up on us and we’ll be ready.” 

The relationship that Hammon and Brondello have is something that WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert says is a reflection of the growth of the league.

“As we witness Sandy Brondello and Becky Hammon guide their teams to the WNBA Finals, their journey from the court to the coaching sidelines is an inspiring testament to the enduring legacy of the WNBA,” Engelbert said.

“Since 2019, we have tripled the number of former players who are head coaches and significantly increased those in the assistant coaching ranks and I am so pleased to see all their successes and contributions to growing the game.” 

The defending WNBA champion Aces are gearing up for their third Finals in the past four years. The Liberty will play for the title for the fifth time, with their last Finals appearance 21 years ago when they lost to the Los Angeles Sparks in 2002. During Game 1, Hammon was the Liberty’s leading scorer with 18 points.

During the 2023 regular season, the Aces and Liberty met five times. The Liberty took the win three of the five games. 

The 2023 WNBA Finals begins on Sunday, Oct. 8 at 3 p.m. EST in Las Vegas. 

Game 2: Wednesday, Oct. 11 at 9 p.m. EST in Vegas

Game 3: Sunday, Oct. 15 at 3 p.m. EST in Brooklyn

Game 4 (if necessary): Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. EST in Brooklyn

Game 5 (if necessary): Friday, Oct. 20 at 9 p.m. EST in Vegas