With new and familiar faces said to be in tow, the New York Liberty continues to add fuel to its championship torch.
The New York Liberty has reportedly made another splash signing on Atlantic Avenue.
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Per Kendra Andrews, Shams Charania, and Alexa Philippou of ESPN, the Liberty is set to add forward Satou Sabally on a multi-year deal. It’s part of a redemption seeking offseason for New York, which followed up its first postseason championship with a fifth-place finish and first-round exit.
Sabally, formerly of the Phoenix Mercury, would be the latest marquee addition of the Liberty’s Brooklyn era. Another, Jonquel Jones, is also set to re-up on a similar multi-year deal (per Madeline Kenney of the New York Post) and the original, 2020 top overall pick Sabrina Ionescu, has been granted core designation amidst a verbal commitment to return. Breanna Stewart, who arrived with Jones during the winter of 2023, has also announced her intentions to stick around.
Liberty Gets Their Ducks in a Row
New York will thus stage its next championship run through multiple rungs of familiarity.
Signing Sabally carries a bittersweet irony: the move reunites Oregon alumnae Ionescu and Sabally but also comes shortly after the Liberty lost the latter’s younger sister Nyara to the Toronto Tempo in the recent expansion draft.
Both Saballys collaborated with two-way Liberty threat Leonie Fiebich on the German national team during its maiden Olympic voyage in 2024, while Satou was briefly paired with Ionescu in the debut season of the Unrivaled league co-founded by Stewart.
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Ionescu and Sabally respectively heard their names called first and second in 2020 after a possible national championship run was wiped out by the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament. Now, there’s a chance for this mini-flock to make up for lost championship time.
The Liberty got to know the elder Sabally’s impact in the most painful way possible last fall: its championship defense was partly stifled by a dominant two-way on prominent display during the opening round of the playoffs. Sabally averaged 15.7 points, nine rebounds, and three steals in the trio and notably had a 23-point, 12-rebound box score in the victorious closer. She and the Mercury would reach the WNBA Finals before falling to the Las Vegas Aces in four games.
New York often struggled to get into a groove due to pesky medical interruptions but several alarming numbers foreshadowed its eventual doom: several close games slipped through the Liberty’s grip last season, as it was 11th in rebounds allowed and dead last in both offensive board departments. The lack of Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (who missed all of last season with an injury) certainly didn’t help, but a post headlined by Jones, Sabally, and Stewart could go a long way in cleaning up that mess.
Sabally Deal Part of Liberty’s Now-and-Later Approach
Initial concerns about the Liberty’s ability to keep its fearsome core in tact have given way to further shrewd planning from general manager Jonathan Kolb.
Kolb has made a name for himself by playing the long game and the coup for two reiterates that approach. While the Liberty has attracted several supermax talents, Kolb has reportedly landed Jones and Sabally on multi-year deals to spread the costs around.
The Liberty also continue to outsource its depth, as international find Raquel Carrera is inching toward her WNBA debut. That somewhat mirrors the journey of Fiebich, who was acquired in cost-cutting trade in 2023 before leaping into the starting lineup during the aforementioned championship run the following year. Fan favorite and French standout Marine Johannes has also been granted a reserved qualifying offer.
New York is set to open its 2026 season on May 8 against the Connecticut Sun at home.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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