Satou Sabally is stepping away from the New York Liberty to deal with lingering concussion symptoms, head coach Chris DeMarco said ahead of Thursday’s Liberty win over the Los Angeles Sparks.
“She’s gonna be away from the team for a little bit,” DeMarco said, per Liberty reporter Myles Ehrlich. “It’s her second significant head injury in the past 12 months… Health will always be the focus. We look forward to getting her back; she’s just taking some time right now.”
Playing for the Phoenix Mercury, Sabally suffered a concussion in last year’s WNBA Finals and went on to miss the entirety of the Unrivaled basketball season as she recovered. In the offseason, she signed a two-year, $1.67 million fully guaranteed contract with New York.
But her first season as a member of the Liberty hasn’t gone as she’d hoped. She’s averaged 10.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game — both career-low numbers — and appeared in just 13 of 35 games. Now, after suffering a second concussion last month, it’s official that Sabally will be away from the team indefinitely.
The Liberty have faced their fair share of adversity this season
Sabally’s injury woes have been one of many things to have gone wrong for New York this season. The Liberty are 21-14 — owners of the WNBA’s sixth-best record — after seemingly assembling a superteam in the offseason headlined by Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Sabrina Ionescu, and Sabally. But Ionescu has missed 12 games, Leonie Fiebich has missed 21, and DeMarco’s first season at the helm hasn’t gone as many have anticipated.
Still, in large part due to strong play by Breanna Stewart (who is averaging 21 points and 8.3 rebounds per game) the Liberty find themselves squarely in the middle of the playoff race. Ionescu has been trending upwards, too, though she’s still shooting just 32.2% from three on the season, and Jones has been durable and productive. But Sabally’s absence hurts and makes the Liberty’s championship aspirations a bit more of an uphill climb.
On Thursday, New York squeezed out an 85-81 win over the Los Angeles Sparks, led by 20 points from Sabrina Ionescu. Still, they allowed 40 fourth-quarter points from the Sparks, the latest reminder that they’re just not quite playing their best basketball this season.
There’s plenty of time — and talent — to turn things around. But Sabally’s indefinite absence is the latest gut-bunch for a New York suqad many thought would be among the league’s best teams this year.