December 11, 2025
New Liberty coach Chris DeMarco understands the tall task in front of him
Inside DeMarco's first day in Brooklyn, where he was introduced as the New York Liberty's 10th head coach
NEW YORK — It was clear that Chris DeMarco, the Liberty’s newly-hired head coach, wasn’t used to large-scale events being dedicated to him when he was introduced officially on Wednesday.
Continue reading with a subscription to The Next
Get unlimited access to women’s basketball coverage and help support our hardworking staff of writers, editors, and photographers by subscribing today.
Already a member?
Login
From the moment he walked into the Liberty’s press conference room in western business attire to his first scrum in Liberty-branded sweats at the Brooklyn Basketball training center across the street, DeMarco was trying to take it all in while ensuring he was authentic in his interactions.
One reporter asked him about what he feels like his legacy will be once he officially leaves the Golden State Warriors for the Liberty full-time on Jan. 1, 2026. “It’s definitely not about me at all,” he said, a bit uncomfortable with the question.
Seeing his name and face everywhere inside and outside Barclays Center was definitely new and surreal for DeMarco. But he cared most about talking and meeting people in his new workplace. He took a lot of photos on Wednesday, but also used that time to do a lot of talking.
Want even more women’s sports in your inbox?
Subscribe now to The IX Sports and receive our daily women’s sports newsletter covering soccer, tennis, basketball, golf, hockey and gymnastics from our incredible team of writers. That includes Basketball Wednesday from founder and editor Howard Megdal.
Readers of The IX Basketball now save 50% on their subscription to The IX.
He made sure he kept talking to people like Sabrina Ionescu, who, along with three other teammates, was in attendance. He was in the ear of Allie Moogan, the Liberty’s manager of community outreach, and was actively in conversation with the students of Uncommon Excellence Girls Charter School, who were at the Brooklyn Training Center for a clinic. He joined them on the court following his press conference.
That was what DeMarco appeared to enjoy the most. He looked at home sitting on the hardwood floor inside the Brooklyn training center. He kept looking at a yellow sign that one of the students had made, welcoming him to New York.
“Let’s go,” he said while scooting backward so he could sit next to the girls participating in the clinic.
“Are you Chris DeMarco?” the student on his left asked him.
“I am,” he responded. The student’s mouth was agape. She was clearly thrilled to be sitting next to the 10th head coach in New York Liberty history.
DeMarco felt a bit less at home around an hour later when he walked into the press conference room with a navy blue suit with a black and sea foam tie. His answers to questions weren’t verbose. He didn’t have the same charisma that the Liberty’s previous coach Sandy Brondello had when she was introduced on Zoom almost four years ago. But, he also didn’t lack the head coaching experience of general manager Jonathan Kolb’s previous hire before Brondello, Walt Hopkins.
But what he did have was an understanding of how much pressure he’s going to have to contend with alongside a willingness to address the elephant in the room. (No, he did not meet Ellie on Wednesday, but he will presumably before May.) He’s never coached women in situations where the stakes are this high on either the professional or collegiate side.
When he was asked how he’s preparing to coach women, his answer was earnest, although it wasn’t the most well-planned.
“We had three games in four nights,” he said in reference to his soon-to-be former job as an assistant coach of the Warriors. “So I still am doing my assistant coaching role with the Golden State Warriors, but any free time I have, I’m pouring into this. I’ve probably ordered every book on the New York Liberty you can find online.”
Unfortunately, to what will be DeMarco’s own dismay, there aren’t many books on just the Liberty that are easily accessible. A truth that runs concurrently with the fact that the WNBA hasn’t been properly chronicled for the majority of its almost three-decade history. Ultimately, Amazon might be the best place for DeMarco to look in 2022’s “Unfinished Business” documentary, available on Prime Video for streaming.
“I’ve always watched as a fan,” he continued. “So now I have to shift my focus and watch as a coach. So there’s a lot to go back and watch, but I’m a massive basketball fan, and I love every second of it, so continue to lean into that. Continue to learn about the history of the WNBA, the history of the Liberty, as we enter the 30th season of the WNBA and the franchise. It’s just a really exciting time.”
Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast & Women’s Sports Daily
We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women’s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women’s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere you listen to your podcasts and make sure to subscribe!
His answer came across as a bit uninformed, but his delivery, along with multiple answers throughout his press conference, appeared honest. He has a lot to learn, and he knows that. DeMarco didn’t feel the need to brush over his accomplishments to try to prove to the room that he’s ready for the task at hand. Kolb did this for him in his opening remarks, where he hit on DeMarco’s experience helping to build and sustain a dynasty, dealing with a bevy of personalities and superstars in addition to holding those superstars, role players and players at the end of the bench all accountable.
DeMarco didn’t come at his press conference from a place of insecurity, trying to convince people in the room that his basketball knowledge is enough to be deserving of the job, similarly to how the Mercury’s Nate Tibbetts did over two years ago during his introductory press conference.
The Liberty also didn’t try to overcompensate for DeMarco’s lack of WNBA experience by branding him by his connections to women in his life. While DeMarco has a younger sister, her presence and how close she is to him weren’t part of the conversation. Instead, DeMarco was more interested in laying out his connections to New York, as his late father Sal was raised on Long Island. Before DeMarco moved to Wisconsin, where he spent most of his adolescence, he spent his first six or seven years as a child also living on Long Island. He wanted the New York media know how much he feels connected to the state as he reminisced about his trips to Jones Beach.
To be clear, DeMarco’s situation is quite different from the one Tibbetts walked into two years ago. While both men were hired into the WNBA without high-level experience coaching women, results will need to be almost immediate for DeMarco. “In 2026, we obviously have championship aspirations,” he said.
In order for the Liberty to return to the WNBA Finals, the place where the franchise believes they belong, DeMarco isn’t going to have to just learn a lot very quickly, but he’s also going to have to build relationships and trust very quickly.
Ionescu, who was visibly nodding her head during DeMarco’s press conference, appeared excited and willing to put the time in to learn from her new head coach. The two had previously met on the night when Stephen Curry wore her Sabrina 3 shoes, but in Brooklyn, they seemed quite comfortable and chummy. While also making an appearance at the clinic at the Brooklyn Basketball training center, Ionescu got the ball in her hand, swiped playfully by DeMarco while she was looking on at the young people participating.
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, whose rights the Liberty have going into free agency, once again served as the levity to end the press conference. And she used her question to her new head coach as a way to begin connecting with him on one of her favorite things: food.
Later at the clinic, Laney-Hamilton could observe DeMarco and how he interacts with children, a joy the two also share. When DeMarco was welcomed by Brooklyn Basketball Training Center’s version of the now-infamous “Jennifer Hudson Show” spirit tunnel, he made sure to grab a child’s hand and bring her along with him down the makeshift tunnel.
Nyara Sabally and Isabelle Harrison just looked very pleased to be there.
Notably missing in action were Breanna Stewart, who was currently on a family vacation with her children, wife and mother-in-law in Paris, and Jonquel Jones. DeMarco was asked about Jones and their relationship, acknowledging DeMarco’s connection to the Bahamas Basketball Federation.
He noted that while he has met Jones, he hasn’t spent a lot of time with her. DeMarco mentioned that he and Jones share a mutual connection in Warriors guard Buddy Hield, who Jones grew up with in Freeport. It’s been notable that Jones hasn’t been super vocal on social media about the hire.
“I have to earn the players’ trust,” DeMarco told reporters on Wednesday. “I think anybody who touches this situation, it starts with the player relationships. They have to believe in me. They have to believe in our staff.”
All eyes will be on how the Liberty Walk-the-Walk
When the Mercury hired Tibbetts, they made sure to surround him with a staff that had WNBA institutional knowledge. He hired Kristi Toliver as his associate head coach, then hired former WNBA player and college coach Megan Vogel, as well as former G League assistant Michael Joiner.
The front bench of the coaching staff was an equal gender split with two of each. This begs the question as to how the Liberty will approach this now that two years following Tibbetts’ hire, there are more men serving as head coaches than women in the WNBA. The 2026 season will be the first time this has been a reality since the 2021 season.
Seven of the 15 head coaches in 2026 will all have some sort of NBA experience under their belt. And the Liberty made this hire during a time when the previous pipeline of women coaching in the NBA has since shriveled up from what it once was over five years ago. There is an onus on the Liberty to contribute to improving the pipeline in the WNBA to ensure that more women, and specifically Black women, can get opportunities to become head coaches in the WNBA. “I think, honestly, it starts with us,” Kolb said on Wednesday when asked about the coaching pipeline in the W.
Want more women’s hockey content? Subscribe to The Ice Garden!
In case you missed it, The Ice Garden is now part of The IX Sports family!
The staff of The Ice Garden has paved the way for women’s hockey coverage from the college ranks to international competitions. Of course, that includes in-depth coverage of the PWHL too. For a limited time, free signups at The Ice Garden can sample all the work they do. Check it out, sign up now!
Would DeMarco be willing to surround himself with exclusively women on his front bench?
“I’ve always had women on my staff,” he said in response to that question. “I have worked with women my entire NBA career and international career. When I was a head coach of the Bahamas national team, I hired coach Yo[lett McPhee-McCuin] as our associate head coach. I think it was in [20]21, the Ole Miss women’s head coach and [20]22 to really, presently, Addison Walters, she’s an assistant coach now for the [G League’s] Iowa Wolves, has always been on my staff. So I’ve always just tried to identify the right people for the culture I’m trying to build, and the best basketball coaches.”
He wouldn’t commit to it completely, but he acknowledged how he has walked this walk before. It’s now more important than ever that he does just that.
Written by Jackie Powell
Jackie Powell covers the New York Liberty for The IX Basketball and hosts episodes of The IX Sports podcast, where she explores national women's basketball stories. She also has covered women's basketball and the culture of the sport for Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, MSNBC, Yahoo Sports, Harper's Bazaar and SLAM. She also self-identifies as a Lady Gaga stan, is a connoisseur of pop music and is a mental health advocate.
