If you want to know why Caitlin Clark keeps coaches up at night, ask the one who lifted a trophy in 2024 and was gone by 2025. The New York Liberty closed the 2025 regular season at 27-17 and reached the playoffs, only to be bounced in the first round by the Phoenix Mercury.

That early exit triggered a swift decision. The front office parted ways with Sandy Brondello, the coach who had guided them to their breakthrough championship just a year prior. Now, on the heels of joining the expansion Toronto Tempo, Brondello is offering a candid, coach’s-eye breakdown of the league’s toughest covers.

What Analysis Has Sandy Brondello Given Recently?

On the latest episode of “Bird’s Eye View” podcast, Sue Bird asked a simple question with complicated answers: Who is the hardest to scout against?

Brondello didn’t hesitate. She put A’ja Wilson and Clark in a tier of their own as players who warp scouting reports and punish even minor mistakes.

“I think A’ja’s really hard to defend. She needs to crowd around… I think Caitlin Clark is really hard to guard, when she’s healthy, just her ability. She gave us a lot of handful this year. She can shoot it from way out, she can pass it. I think she’s been a tough one,” said Brondello during the podcast.

Wilson’s case is straightforward. The four-time MVP has been the sport’s pace car for several seasons, setting the standard at both ends.

In the 2024 postseason, she turned Brondello’s whiteboard into a stress test. Across a grueling five-game semifinal, Wilson hovered around 21 points and 10 rebounds a night, but the box score only tells part of it. Every possession against Wilson felt like a decision tree with no perfect branch.

Clark challenges in a different key. Where Wilson grinds you down with inevitability, Clark scrambles your circuitry. Brondello has seen her defensive plans undone by Clark’s blend of deep-range gravity and instant-push tempo.

Earlier in the 2025 season, fresh off a left quad issue, Clark exploded against the Liberty, scoring 32 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds in barely more than a quarter of court time.

Indiana snapped New York’s 9-0 start with a 102-88 statement, and every Liberty coverage found a seam that Clark could thread. Another instance was in a July 2024 meeting when Clark scored 18 points with three threes and 13 assists in an 83-78 win.

“Yes, it’s analytically driven and and and trying to work it out. But sometimes the analytics may say, ‘Yeah, go under on her. She’s not shooting so well, and like, okay, well, she’s just made five, you know, shots.”

“What? No, let’s change it.’ That’s when I’m like, you know, I always say analytics, you know, it’s in it’s great information. It gives you knowledge, but then sometimes you got to see how the game’s going,” added Brondello regarding how she would use the analytics to plan against Clark.

The 2025 campaign tested Clark’s endurance like never before. Despite missing 31 games due to leg, quad, and groin injuries, she still averaged 16.5 points, 8.8 assists, and five rebounds per game. The Fever finished with a (24–20) record, reached the playoffs, and even advanced past the Atlanta Dream before falling in a heartbreaking semifinal Game 5 against the Aces.

With stars Kelsey Mitchell and Aaliyah Boston both ejected late and Clark battling injury, Indiana’s miracle run came to an end. Still, many believe that with a fully healthy Clark, the Fever could’ve made the Finals.

As Brondello gears up for a new chapter with Toronto, her admiration for players like Wilson and Clark speaks volumes.