Satou Sabally Blasts WNBA Commissioner Over New Schedule

Sabally voiced her displeasure to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert in the Mercury’s postgame press conference on Saturday after their loss to the Seattle Storm. 

“Cathy (Engelbert) added a lot of games and us as players, recovery is so important. We put our bodies on the line every single time and we had nine games in 18 days. It’s not really responsible for a commissioner,” Sabally said. “I think other teams have like three back-to-backs, so it’s just a lot of things that we could clean up in terms of scheduling…over the course of a long season, that’s really hard to do.”

Nine games in 18 days for a professional basketball team to play is egregious. Sabally did also note that the Mercury have a great training staff and have her trust. It's just very difficult to have such little time off in between games and to remain healthy throughout a full season.

Despite this chaotic schedule, the Mercury have still managed to jump out to a 6-4 start this season. They sit in the No. 4 spot in the WNBA standings behind only the New York Liberty, Minnesota Lynx, and Atlanta Dream. 

Against the Storm on Saturday, Sabally had 22 points, six assists, and five rebounds. Nobody else in the Mercury starting lineup scored in double figures. The second leading scorer for Phoenix and the only other player in double figures was Lexi Held off the bench with 14 points.

Seattle was lead by Skylar Diggins's 26 points and Gabby Williams's 21 points.

Satou Sabally In Sixth WNBA Season

Satou Sabally is now in her sixth season in the WNBA. Sabally was selected No. 2 overall in the 2020 WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings, right behind her college teammate Sabrina Ionescu who was drafted No. 1 overall by the New York Liberty.

Sabally was involved in a four-team trade this past offseason which resulted in her being traded to the Phoenix Mercury. In her five seasons with Dallas, Sabally was named an all-star two times, won the 2023 WNBA Most Improved Player of the Year, and was named to the 2023 All-WNBA first team.

For her career, Sabally has averaged 16.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists. In 10 games this season, she is averaging 20.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game.