Satou Sabally spent the first five years of her WNBA career in Dallas with the Wings before getting traded to the Phoenix Mercury this past offseason. Sabally was seemingly ready for a fresh start, and she is finding success with her new team. However, one has to wonder if Sabally will have extra motivation with the Wings and Mercury set to go head-to-head on Wednesday night in Phoenix. On Tuesday, Sabally addressed the topic.
"I'm really excited to play in front of our home crowd and just kind of face a regular opponent," Sabally said, via Aya Abdeen. "I feel like I really take it game by game and it's just a regular game. But I'm excited to see the people."
Sabally downplayed any potential extra motivation. She is preparing for a "regular game" against a "regular opponent." She is seemingly "excited" to see people she used to know from the Wings, but only three players returned to Dallas for the '25 campaign from the 2024 roster.
One of those players, Teaira McCowan, is currently preparing for EuroBasket with Turkey. As a result, the only players Sabally spent time with in Dallas last year who will be available on Wednesday night are Arike Ogunbowale and Maddy Siegrist.
The Mercury will enter Wednesday's contest with a 6-4 overall record. They are in second place in the Western Conference. Sabally's former team, the Wings, have struggled to begin the new campaign, however. Dallas is adjusting to life without Sabally.
Sabally earned two All-Star selections during her time with the Wings -- with the selections in 2021 and 2023. The '23 campaign represented a true breakout year for Sabally. The forward finished fifth in WNBA MVP voting after averaging 18.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.8 steals per outing. The Wings also made a deep postseason run.
The 2024 season saw Sabally miss the first half of the year with an injury. She returned for the Olympics in July/August and ended up playing in 10 games for the Wings to conclude the year. This past offseason, Sabally was ultimately traded to Phoenix.
She has made a strong first impression with the Mercury, averaging 20.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals per contest across her first 10 games in Phoenix. The Mercury are hopeful that Sabally can lead them to the postseason. For now, though, Phoenix is focused on Wednesday's game against the Wings.