Liberty make 6-5 forward Nyara Sabally their pick at No. 5 in WNBA draft

Nyara Sabally tore her right ACL and missed her freshman season at Oregon. She tore it again the next summer and missed the following season, too.

So to go from those lows of her early college days to the high of Monday night as the fifth overall pick in the WNBA Draft wasn’t lost on her.

The draft was held at Spring Studios in Manhattan. Now she’s headed to Brooklyn. The Liberty have a new 6-5 forward.

“This moment, it was just amazing,” Sabally said. “I can barely put it into words, just that feeling of getting my name called. All the hard work in the training room was worth it. All the endless tears after injuries. I’m just happy that the work I put in got rewarded.”

Sabally is a post player who played two college seasons. The two-time All-Pac-12 honoree from Germany, who was sidelined when new Liberty teammate Sabrina Ionescu was playing for Oregon, led the Ducks in scoring at 15.4 points per game and rebounding at 7.8 this past season.

So what does she bring to the Liberty? Something they needed in 2021 when they went 12-20 and were one-and-done in the playoffs.

“Just using my strength and size and the power I bring inside, and just helping wherever I can, getting those boards, defending,” Sabally said. “Obviously, New York just picked up a great post player [Stefanie Dolson] that I’m excited to learn from.”

The Sabally name already is established in the WNBA. Her sister, Satou, has been with the Dallas Wings the last two seasons after playing at Oregon.

“Satou has given me a lot of advice,” Nyara said, “especially just saying I’ve got to be ready for the physicality and how fast-paced the game is. It’s a completely different level than in college, but at the same time, just doing what I did to get here.”

The Liberty originally didn’t have a second-round selection, but they traded a 2023 second-round selection to Seattle for one and took 6-4 Georgia Tech forward Lorela Cubaj 18th overall. Sika Kone, a 6-3 center from Mali, was their third-round choice.

Kentucky guard Rhyne Howard went first to Atlanta, Baylor forward NaLyssa Smith went second to Indiana and Mississippi center Shakira Austin went third to Washington. Indiana, which had four first-round picks, selected Louisville forward Emily Engstler fourth overall.