Phoenix Mercury | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Position | Head coach | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
League | WNBA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born |
Mackay, Queensland, Australia |
20 August 1968 |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | Australian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WNBA draft | 1998 / Round: 4 / Pick: 34th overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Selected by the Detroit Shock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing career | 1992–2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Shooting guard | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coaching career | 2005–present | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As player: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1998–1999 | Detroit Shock | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2001–2002 | Miami Sol | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2003 | Seattle Storm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As coach: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2005–2009 | San Antonio Silver Stars (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010 | San Antonio Silver Stars | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2011–2013 | Los Angeles Sparks (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014–present | Phoenix Mercury | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As coach:
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Stats at WNBA.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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As player:
As coach:
Sandra Anne "Sandy" Brondello (born 20 August 1968) is an Australian women's basketball coach, and the current coach of the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA. Brondello played in Australia, Germany and the WNBA before retiring to become a coach. The 1.70 m (5'7") Brondello is one of Australia's all-time best shooting guards. She played on Australia's "Opals" national team at four Summer Olympics, and won three medals (one bronze, two silvers). She attended the Australian Institute of Sport in 1986-1987, and was inducted to the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
Brondello grew up in Mackay, Queensland, where her parents had a sugar cane farm. At the age of 9, she started to play basketball in a grass court her father built in the backyard Brondello's career began in Australia's Women's National Basketball League, where she was named the Australian Basketball Player of the Year in 1992. Brondello played for 10 seasons in the WNBL, reaching the playoffs on three occasions and being named Most Valuable Player in 1995 as a member of the Brisbane Blazers. She also played between 1992 and 2002 in Germany for BTV Wuppertal, winning ten national championships and the 1995–96 FIBA Women's European Champions Cup.
Brondello started her WNBA career in 1998 by being selected in the fourth round (34th overall) by the newly formed Detroit Shock, becoming an All-Star in the first WNBA All-Star Game in 1999. She was selected by the Indiana Fever in late 1999's expansion draft, but never played a game for them, being traded to the Miami Sol along with a first-round pick for Stephanie McCarty. After sitting out of the 2002 season due to a foot injury playing for Wuppertal during the WNBA offseason, Brondello signed as a free agent with the Seattle Storm in 2003, joining fellow Australians Lauren Jackson and Tully Bevilaqua. Brondello was one of the top three-point shooters in league history, her .410 percentage ranking fourth all-time.