As the New York Liberty clinched their first championship title on Sunday, there were major differences between the two head coaches, Sandy Brondello and Cheryl Reeve. While Reeve took a jab at the referees, Brondello came to their defense. And though the two might not be very keen to see each other face to face, there is one player who gets the same opinion from both coaches, highlighting that at the end of the day, good skills can even get rivals together.

On Sunday’s post-game press conference, Reeve applauded Nyara Sabally’s exceptional skills and how that helped the Liberty lift the title. And W fans were happy that at least Reeve had reached a consensus with Brondello on one thing.

“She was tremendous in the playoffs; Nyara Sabally was tremendous in the playoffs. Really gave them a lift every time she got minutes in. Not surprised that they went big. You know… it’s crazy how this year has ended, right? For 4 games, it was about the three-ball, three-ball, three-ball. Certainly about the offensive rebound throughout the whole thing. But now tonight came down to the points in the paint; we hadn’t scored in the paint; we had what 44… 44 was it? So it’s really interesting how this year has ended… They won the game with their defense… So your question Sabablly was a… her minutes really helped them,” Reeve stated.

Sabally did not get much time on the court but made the most of what she got. Especially in Game 5, when the matchup went into overtime, Sabally contributed by stealing the ball off a bad pass from Kayla McBride before hitting a two-pointer. This helped the Liberty take the score to a 65-60 tally. Apart from that, she also had two defensive rebounds and blocked Phee’s driving layup, as mentioned by Reeve. All these efforts culminated in Sabally winning the game by a 67-62 margin.

Even in the other 4 WNBA Finale series games, the Oregon alum provided relief to Sab and Stewie by getting in at crucial times. Apart from collecting 7 boards in this game, the 24-year-old hit 5 rebounds in game 4, and that certainly helped the Liberty amp up their defense. Overall, she was a good addition to the team and proved her worth whenever given a chance. Meanwhile, Brondello had also praised her mentee.

Sandy Brondello praises Nyara Sabally

After Game 3, all the eyes were on Steiwe and Sab for scoring 30 points and hitting her last-minute three-pointer, respectively. However, a lot of media outlets ignored Sabally’s contribution to the team. After the Lynx looked to lead by a 15-point tally, Brondello gave the toughest part of the building act to Sabally, who clearly lived up to the expectations. “I was really, really happy with Nyara… It was the plan to give her a few more extra minutes tonight,” Brondello stated.

While Stewie was down from exhaustion and fouls, Sabablly filled in her place. “She played so hard, she was winded by the end of those seven minutes. We played her seven minutes in a row. But she was so effective. Just the ability, like they being so aggressive in what Nyara brings us. She’s always on her front foot, getting downhill. She’s always gonna run the floor and just 100 miles an hour, which is what we needed. So, it’s just been great to see her growth, and there was never a doubt there,” Brondello added.

The Oregon-born played for 11 minutes and ran from coast to coast, making it difficult for the Lynx to create open spaces. All this helped Liberty win the matchup, and sure since then she has been utilized by Brondello whenever things got tough. While Brondello and Reeve might not agree with the referees’ calls, at least both love a good game of basketball.