{"id":246056,"date":"2026-05-28T05:58:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T05:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/246056\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T05:58:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T05:58:09","slug":"former-mercury-forward-satou-sabally-explains-decision-to-move-on-to-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/246056\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Mercury forward Satou Sabally explains decision to move on to New York"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 Just one year ago, forward Satou Sabally was part of the Phoenix Mercury\u2019s Big Three, players expected to help change the culture in the Valley after the departure of veterans and a relatively newly formed team.<\/p>\n

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May 21, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; New York Liberty<\/a> forward Satou Sabally (0) shoots the ball against Golden State Valkyries<\/a> during the third quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Tom Horak-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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Now, one year later, Sabally finds herself in the Big Apple playing for the New York Liberty after helping lead Phoenix to the WNBA Finals last season. The former Mercury forward discussed her reaction to not being \u201ccored,\u201d meaning the team didn\u2019t use the core designation that would have given them exclusive negotiating rights and a fully guaranteed one-year supermax deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cRelatively,\u201d Sabally said if she was surprised, speaking to Annie Costabile during Wednesday\u2019s pregame availability. \u201cI think it\u2019s a perspective to being surprised, but I also know that they wanted to keep their options open.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Aug 7, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas<\/a> (right) celebrates with Satou Sabally after becoming the first player in WNBA history to record three triple doubles in a row against the Indiana Fever<\/a> at PHX Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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Sabally\u2019s priority shifted toward finding a franchise that fully believed in her, citing that it was something she had to do for her \u201cown protection\u201d while emphasizing the importance of finding a fresh start elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was more so focused on where I want to be next,\u201d she said when asked if she left on good terms with the franchise. \u201cAnd I think that is in an environment that really encourages me and believes in me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The response left room for interpretation.<\/p>\n

Sabally acknowledged the Mercury\u2019s flexibility in reshaping the roster, but also suggested there may have been tough discussions between the organization and one of its most impactful players from a season ago.<\/p>\n

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The All-Star\u2019s departure closed a chapter in Phoenix that featured flashes of elite production alongside difficult injury setbacks. Alongside fellow All-Stars Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper<\/a>, Sabally was one of the Mercury\u2019s most efficient and versatile players during the regular season, averaging 16.3 points while shooting 40.4% from the field.<\/p>\n

But her season took a devastating turn during the Finals when she suffered a concussion that forced her to miss Game 4, leaving Phoenix without one of its most important two-way contributors during a crucial moment in the series.<\/p>\n

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Sep 4, 2025; Washington<\/a>, District of Columbia, USA; Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally (0) attempts a jump shot in front of Washington Mystics<\/a> forward Kiki Iriafen<\/a> (44) during the third quarter at CareFirst Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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Despite the end of her season and having to miss her commitments to Unrivaled due to lingering symptoms, Sabally continued to support Valley sports during the offseason, often attending Phoenix Suns and Valley Suns games to show interleague support. Because of this, along with her play in 2025 and her connection with the team, many believed she would re-sign.<\/p>\n

Sabally\u2019s comments reflect the reality of the offseason and how teams operate, whether to bet on continuity or look elsewhere. Phoenix did bring back seven players from last year\u2019s team but also added more international talent to bolster its roster.<\/p>\n

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May 21, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; New York Liberty forward Satou Sabally (0) moves the ball past Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams<\/a> (1) during the second half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Tom Horak-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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Both parties have long moved on from each other, but the Valley will always remember Sabally\u2019s contributions that helped fuel a Finals run in what was supposed to be a rebuilding season.<\/p>\n

*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, and exclusive content. SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*Wendy Lopez is a reporter for Burn City Sports. You can follow her on her X account, @wlopezde<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK \u2014 Just one year ago, forward Satou Sabally was part of the Phoenix Mercury\u2019s Big Three,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246057,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[62485,1458,98,27375,93861,68628,62443,62488,96132,23654,74060,9,11,8915,10,24646,27062,4575,91182,87486,820,6648,27376],"class_list":["post-246056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-alyssa-thomas","tag-arizona","tag-brooklyn","tag-dallas-wings","tag-gabby-williams","tag-golden-state-valkyries","tag-indiana-fever","tag-kahleah-copper","tag-kiki-iriafen","tag-mandatory-credit","tag-mark-j-rebilas-imagn","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-liberty","tag-new-york-news","tag-phoenix","tag-phoenix-mercury","tag-phoenix-suns","tag-satou-sabally","tag-tom-horak-imagn","tag-usa","tag-washington","tag-washington-mystics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246056\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}