Editor’s Note: This story is part of a series from SB Nation profiling the 2025 WNBA All-Star teams. Today, let’s get to know Satou Sabally.
There are good players that everyone knows are good when they are drafted, and then show themselves to be great. There are good players whose skills depreciate over time. And there are also players who are known to be good, but aren’t able to show that off very often due to injury.
That’s been Satou Sabally’s career to this point in a nutshell.
Sabally’s entry into the WNBA was unlike many other players. She was a part of an Oregon Ducks roster that was the favorite to win the 2020 NCAA March Madness tournament. Of course, that tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Sabally ended her college career on that note. She was then drafted No. 2 overall in the 2020 WNBA Draft, right after teammate Sabrina Ionescu, by the Dallas Wings.
Sabally’s size, combined with her high-level ball-handling ability and shooting talent, makes her an attractive prospect for teams. She can score from anywhere on the court, but also assists her teammates, and her height of 6’4 allows her to be a great rebounder as well. When she was drafted, she was expected to quickly become one of the WNBA’s best young talents. Unfortunately, her career has been slowed down so far due to injuries.
The injury issues started in Sabally’s rookie season, in the WNBA bubble. She had back issues and a concussion, shortening her already shortened campaign. In her second season, she played well enough to earn her first All-Star nomination, but ended up missing more of the season after that because of an Achilles injury. It was not ruptured, which would have sat her out much longer, but the soreness kept her out for a huge chunk of her sophomore WNBA year. In 2022, Sabally only played 11 regular-season games due to ongoing ankle and knee issues.
2023 was a huge year for Sabally, as she played her healthiest season in the WNBA yet. She averaged career-highs of 18.6 points, 8.1 boards and 4.4 assists per game, made her second career All-Star Game, and recorded her first career triple-double. It was the first time since being drafted that she played in more than 17 games in a single season, playing 38 total games for Dallas. Unfortunately, that energy did not carry into 2024, when Sabally only played 15 games total due to a shoulder injury she sustained while playing with the German National team. After the 2024 season, she decided it was time to move on from Dallas. Technically a free agent, but her fate was not completely in her own hands. When the Wings used the core option on her, she requested to be traded, and despite losing her, coring her meant the Wings would get back assets for her, and they thus granted her request.
She’s having an even better season in 2025 than she did in 2023. She’s now averaging 19.1 points per game, helping Phoenix to a No. 2 spot in the WNBA standings and leading a young and feisty team along with Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper. When Copper had to miss the first month of the season from injury, Sabally was a big reason the Mercury thrived and were able to work their way up the standings. They now sit at a 14-6 record, and Sabally has played in 18 of 20 total games so far this season.
Talent runs in the Sabally family as well, as her younger sister Nyara has carved her own place in the sport. The younger Sabally went to Oregon as well, and was drafted by the New York Liberty. In 2023, the sisters played against each other in the WNBA, becoming the fifth set of sisters to face off in the league. They also both represent Germany at the international level, competing for the German team at the Olympics and World Cups.
One factor to keep in mind when thinking about all of Sabally’s injuries over the years was the fact that she played overseas a lot in the beginning of her career. WNBA seasons in the summer, European seasons in the winter, international competitions sprinkled throughout. Maybe now that playing overseas is not as common anymore, and Sabally seems to be staying in the US to play with Unrivaled, the injuries won’t be as frequent. Still, it has been great to see her leading a team the way she was always expected to. She’s just what the Mercury needed in their revamp — a young, versatile, electric player who fans could latch onto.
