Oft-injured Nyara Sabally healthy and impressing Liberty

The big day for the Sabally sisters from Germany came and went at Barclays Center with Nyara's Liberty winning and Satou’s Wings losing.

Satou, the fourth-year Dallas forward, did beat Nyara, the rookie, on the stat sheet Sunday in their first meeting as WNBA players. But the Liberty are enthused over what the long-term future might hold for their Sabally.

They took the 6-5 forward as the fifth overall pick in the 2022 draft, but she sat out last season after undergoing knee surgery.

Now she’s a reserve on a loaded team that’s being touted as a championship contender.

“Nyara, we’ve been really impressed with her,” coach Sandy Brondello said. “She’s had some tough runs with injuries. But her potential, the sky’s the limit, just with her versatility, her athleticism, her rebounding, her running. She has no fear. She’s still learning how to play with us.”

She was averaging 3.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 10 minutes in her six games heading into Tuesday night’s matchup against Atlanta in Brooklyn.

“Obviously, this is my rookie year, and there were a lot of discussions about my health and stuff,” she said. “But I’m ready to play. I’m healthy. I feel good about my game.”

In her college days at Oregon, she missed her freshman season after tearing her right ACL and the following season after tearing it again.

But two All-Pac-12 seasons came next. Then the Liberty selected her in April of 2022. But Nyara Sabally needed another operation on that right knee the following month.

So make it three seasons missed.

Instead, she became a coach, signing on last July as an assistant with the Sacramento State women’s team.

“I would’ve much rather played, but I think I learned a lot from that experience, especially coaching, seeing the game from a different perspective,” Nyara Sabally said. “So in the long run, I think that will help my playing career.”

Dallas selected her sister with the second overall pick in the 2020 draft. Satou Sabally also played at Oregon, but she didn’t get to play with Nyara because of the knee problems.

“I remember her playing in the NCAA Tournament last year before she got drafted, and I was like, ‘Yeah, she’s good,’ ” Satou Sabally said. “Because back then, there was already a conversation around her knee.

“But the way she just played, there’s no doubt that she’s a basketball star player to me and can be one of the best in the world.”

Satou Sabally, who entered Tuesday virtually tied for first in the league at 11.2 rebounds per game and as the sixth-leading scorer at 21.2, delivered 17 points and 11 rebounds against the Liberty. Nyara Sabally didn’t score and grabbed four rebounds, playing only 8:43.

They didn’t share the court for long during the Liberty’s 102-93 victory, but it meant a lot.

“[It was] just something we've looked forward to for our whole life to just be on the court,” Nyara Sabally said. “And that it happened on the biggest stage of the world is just an extra bonus.”