Earlier in January, during the media availability for the Unrivaled, Satou Sabally, had one line to add to the free-agency intrigue. “I’ve already played my last game in Dallas,” she had announced. One of the top players in the league had just become available. Rumors and speculations flew around as New York Liberty and Phoenix ended into the mix. 26 days in, one team hit the mark with the rising star and let’s just say they have got a newly-acquired player Sabally hated as a rookie to thank.

On Sunday, the Pheonix Mercury announced the acquisition of Satou Sabally as a part of a four-team trade. The 2023 most-improved player was just the addition for a team that lost Brittney Griner while Diana Taurasi’s return remains uncertain. They are rebuilding with doubts cast over their future, yet we see the former Dallas Wings star treading with trust. A crucial reason? Alyssa Thomas.

“Obviously I was interested in Phoenix before, but her [Thomas] saying yes, is just like, we have people that are like-minded, that are on the same. So let’s do this together,” Sabally revealed her mindset in signing with the franchise.

The Connecticut Suns star was a part of the same four-team trade deal that brought in Sabally and sent out Natasha Cloud. Coming off the 2024 season as a five-time WNBA All-Star and six-time All-Defensive Team select, she now finds herself a part of the Mercury’s Big 3 alongside Sabally and Kahleah Copper. The former Wings player is excited, but it isn’t something she would have imagined four years ago.

Speaking to the Desert Wave Media, Sabally revealed she had her share of battles against Alyssa Thomas in that 2020 rookie season and she wasn’t a fan. “She was literally a vet I hated in my rookie season because she demolished us,” she confesses. “And I hated it.” 

The two would face each other twice in the regular season, both times, the Sun came out victorious. Sabally was limited to just 11 points and 10 rebounds in two games combined while Thomas soared with 32 and 17. Even in their last clash, the latter dominated the Wings 109-91. But the competition is out of the way now, leaving Sabally to admit her admiration.

“She’s been such a legend,” she adds. Yet, it wasn’t just the new relationships to be forged in Phoenix, that drove her decision.  

Satou Sabally’s bold move of sacrificing  sisterhood

While SS’s professional aspirations drove her to seek a “championship environment” and a team that “invests in me and others around me,” it also meant leaving her sister, Nyara Sabally, behind. With her younger sister, Nyara, already a part of the New York Liberty, many assumed a reunion was on the table. But for Satou, fit mattered more than familiarity.

New York could offer her a starting role, especially with Courtney Vandersloot’s departure to Chicago. Yet, Satou had no desire to play the three again—a position she was forced into in Dallas after Natasha Howard’s arrival in 2022. The Liberty’s power forward spot belonged to two-time MVP Breanna Stewart, leaving little room for Satou to take on her preferred role.

During free agency, she took her time weighing options. “I wanted to just stay really level-headed throughout the whole free agency and really soak in all the information,” she said. More than its championship pedigree, it’s this connection with the coaching staff that drew her eye to Phoenix. “I just had a great conversation with the coach. He really knows me, knows how I play and knows how to set me up. That’s something I’m looking for—I want to be better every single day.”

That isn’t to say it was any easy decision either. Nyara, her sibling and basketball colleague, had strong feelings on her own. “My sister is still my sister,” Satou said with laughter. “We had conversations through FaceTime. I got the little middle finger.” The verbal jab aside, Nyara would remain supportive as well. “In the end, she is super supportive and advocative about me along the way, regardless of what takes place.”

For Sabally, joining Phoenix is about growth in every sense. While her association with Alyssa Thomas promises a lot for elevating her game, it‘s clear that the bond between Nyara and her remains unshaken-even if it came with a middle finger.