Satou Sabally is officially a member of the New York Liberty. On Friday morning, the franchise introduced their newest star across the street from Barclays Center at Brooklyn Basketball Training Center, where she hosted a clinic for some lucky youth that got to spend Friday hooping with a 3-time All-Star instead of going to school…
“Just like, getting people
to run that usually don’t run, it really —- sports liberates you. And I just love to bring that to the youth and show them and be an example for that,” said Sabally before diving into why she decided to join the Liberty, her vision for the loaded squad, and the pain of missing her sister Nyara in New York by just one season.
The 2023 All-WNBA First Team selection admitted that she heavily weighed an opportunity to win a championship in her free agent decision, and it’s obvious from the two-year, $1.67 million contract she signed: “I can be a superstar and single myself out in a different team and get that 1.2 or 1.4 (million dollars) but what I really wanted to do is win a championship. I think that is missing on my resume.”
Sabally was a free agent before the 2025 season as well, and even after signing with the Phoenix Mercury (and subsequently getting to but losing the WNBA Finals) she admitted she came “very close” to signing with the Liberty instead. So what changed this time around?
“Phoenix was very far away from home for me as an international player,” she explained. “Like, a nine-hour time difference. I could only talk to my little brothers before practice at 6 am. After 2pm, it’s over. So I think it was also a personal decision just to get closer to my own home … I’ve been in New York a lot in off-season, and I love New York so much, so I think I wanted to combine private life and business a little bit more than I previously did in my career.”
I’d also posit that signing a below market-rate contract is a bit easier to stomach when it’s $825k and not, say, $150k.
“And I think I still have unfinished business with Sab,” said Sabally, referring to her collegiate career at Oregon next to Sabrina Ionescu, which ended with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ducks would have surely been a #1 seed in that spring’s NCAA Tournament, and Ionescu and the elder Sabally sister were the first two picks in that year’s WNBA Draft.
Of course, a reunion in New York is a joyous occasion for the friends: “We were both, like, just squeaking on FaceTime, I think, for like two minutes. Just like, ‘Oh my God!’ So that was the initial conversation, but obviously we had conversations before that. And she, you know, she actually told me ‘Well, I don’t truly know everything that the front office is doing, but I know they’re doing the right thing.’”
That sums up how many players feel about New York’s ownership and front office, constantly lauded as the league’s best. It’s tough to argue with the results, though there is one player missing from the picture. Nyara Sabally, 2024 WNBA Finals hero, celebrated with Satou at the championship parade…
..and now, Nyara is in Toronto, selected by the Tempo in the expansion draft, while Satou has taken her place in the city.
“I’m continuing a legacy here,” said the older sister. “She started it, and I’m just continuing something that my little sister started. She won a championship, she won a ring for the city, and I want to follow her, follow her footsteps. So that’s truly it, but we were both bummed about it … but I think it’s a true honor that she was chosen to be a part of an expansion team and build something new, and that trust was instilled in her to be that next person.”
Incoming Head Coach Chris DeMarco was spotted with Nyara a few times this offseason, hopeful that he would get to coach her in his rookie season. Instead, he lucked into her sister. There are worse situations.
“Definitely a little disappointed I wasn’t able to coach her but talking to Satou, I felt like I knew her already because of the Nyara,” said DeMarco. “That’s pretty cool.”
DeMarco took the podium after Satou on Friday morning, giving his first public comments since his introductory presser this winter. These were also his first comments since the roster was anything close to finalized.
Said the longtime Golden State Warriors assistant: “I feel like I have the best staff in the WNBA, and that’s why I took my time with the coaching staff and brought in staff who have different ideas from different backgrounds, different leagues, all that. Like, I’ve very much leaned into having this environment where we’re talking all this out. So, we did as much as we can before we had a roster with the understanding that we think we’ll have certain players back. And now it’s like, again, there’s gonna have to be some patience, and then we just build from here.”
Given the chaos of free agency following the WNBA’s labor negotiations, DeMarco’s staff has a tall task in front of them, but a ton of talent to work with. We recently covered the Liberty’s updated roster, with Betnijah Laney-Hamilton officially signing a one-year contract since that article. In addition, Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones, and Breanna Stewart are all officially back, but the length of their contracts may surprise some.
Maddie Kenney of the New York Post was first with the news, but all three stars signed three-year contracts that take them through the 2028 season…
Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart each signed max (but not supermax) deals, making 17% of the cap in each year of their deals. The terms of Jonquel Jones’ deal are not public yet.
“This is an incredibly historic moment for the New York Liberty franchise,” wrote General Manager Jonathan Kolb in a press release. “Re‑signing Breanna, Jonquel, and Sabrina reflects the trust, sacrifice, and shared purpose that define what it means to represent the Liberty, this city, and our fanbase. These three cornerstone players chose to invest in each other and in the long‑term legacy of this organization, a rare commitment that has the chance to redefine the standard of excellence across basketball.”
That’s a lofty goal, but under Joe and Clara Wu Tsai’s ownership, the New York Liberty have not been shy about their aspirations. Alas, every journey starts with a single step. Training camp opens on Monday afternoon and our team at NetsDaily will have extensive coverage of the WNBA title favorites this season.
