Satou Sabally

 ( 1998 Births ) 

In her second season, Sabally missed the first six regular-season games while playing in the 2021 FIBA 3x3 Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament with Germany. Her performance after her return earned her a nomination to the 2021 WNBA All-Star Game. However, Sabally missed most of the games after the Olympic break due to nagging Achilles soreness, and she ended up playing in only 17 of 32 regular-season games. The Wings made the playoffs as the seventh seed, but lost in the first round to the eventual champions, the Chicago Sky.

Sabally played in only 11 regular-season games in the 2022 WNBA season, initially missing games due to a late arrival from her season with Fenerbahçe, and later due to knee and ankle injuries. The Wings finished with a .500 or better record for the first time since relocating to Dallas and made the 2022 WNBA Playoffs as the sixth seed. They faced the third-seeded Connecticut Sun in the first round of the playoffs and won their first playoff game as a franchise since 2009, but eventually lost the series 1–2. Sabally, having missed the last 13 games of the regular season, returned for the playoffs but did not start any of the games and averaged only 15 minutes off the bench.

After struggling with injuries through her first three seasons, which limited her to only 44 appearances, Sabally had a breakthrough year in the 2023 WNBA season. She started 38 games, achieved career-high averages in points, rebounds, assists and steals, was named a 2023 WNBA All-Star Game starter, won the WNBA Most Improved Player Award, and finished fifth in the WNBA Most Valuable Player Award voting. On June 11, in a game against the New York Liberty, Sabally played against her sister Nyara Sabally for the first time in their careers. They became the fifth set of sisters to play against each other in WNBA history. On June 13, she earned her first career WNBA Player of the Week honor. On July 28, in a 90–62 win over the Washington Mystics, Sabally recorded the second triple-double in Wings franchise history (and first since relocating to Dallas) with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. Sabally led the Wings to their first winning record since relocating to Dallas, earning them the fourth seed in the 2023 WNBA Playoffs. The Wings defeated the Atlanta Dream 2-0 in the first round and made their first franchise WNBA semifinal since 2009. They lost 0–3 in the semifinal to the eventual champions, the Las Vegas Aces.

With her rookie contract expiring after the 2023 season, Sabally became a restricted free agent. In January 2024, Sabally signed a one-year deal with the Wings worth $195,000, taking slightly less money than she was eligible for in order to help the team's chances. However, Sabally missed the first 25 games of the 2024 WNBA season due to a shoulder injury sustained on national team duty. Dallas, plagued with injuries to other players as well, struggled in her absence. Sabally started in all 15 games for the Wings after the Olympic break and posted new career-highs in assists and three-point field goal percentage, but it was a disappointing season for the team, which finished 11th with a 9–31 record.

On January 9, 2025, Sabally announced that she had already played her last game in Dallas and would be seeking a new team. Set to become an unrestricted free agent, she received the core designation from the Wings, granting them exclusive negotiating rights with her. Both sides then worked together to find a suitable trade.

During the 2025 WNBA season, Satou Sabally was named an All-Star starter for the third time, although she missed the game due to an ankle injury. Sabally was also an advocate for player rights and criticized the league’s CBA proposal and the demanding 44-game schedule, citing player safety concerns. Despite her injury, she contributed to the Mercury securing the No. 4 playoff seed, where they faced the defending champion New York Liberty in the first round. In October, she was diagnosed with a concussion and ruled out of Game 4 of the WNBA Finals. She was hurt as she fell going after a rebound. Her head made contact with the leg of Kierstan Bell.

Sabally played for the senior Germany women's national basketball team in the EuroBasket Women 2021 qualification. She appeared in two games in November 2019, against North Macedonia (later declared void) and Croatia, where she was the top scorer in both. Sabally returned to the national team in November 2023 for the first two games of the EuroBasket Women 2025 qualification. The first game of the qualification, a win against Czechia, was the first time Satou played together with her sister Nyara Sabally in the senior national team.

In February 2024, Sabally played in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belém. She suffered a shoulder injury during the first game, a surprising victory over Serbia, and did not play in the second game, a loss to Australia. She returned to the lineup for the final decisive game against Brazil, where she was named Player of the Game as Germany secured the win and qualified to the Olympic tournament for the first time. Right after the qualification tournament, Sabally underwent surgery to repair her shoulder injury, ruling her out of the pre-Olympic part of the 2024 WNBA season.

Sabally returned to play at the Paris Olympic tournament, helping the German team reach the quarterfinals in their first Olympic appearance. In the opening game of the group stage, Germany secured their first-ever Olympic win, defeating the reigning European champions Belgium 83–69, with Sabally leading her team in scoring with 17 points. In the second game against Japan, Sabally scored 33 points, the eighth-highest point tally in the history of women's Olympic tournaments. Sabally struggled in the quarterfinal loss to France, 71–84, shooting 2-for-10 from the field and committing 7 turnovers. Nonetheless, she was named to the All-Second Team of the tournament, averaging 18.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists over four games.