Late in the first quarter of the New York Liberty versus the Dallas Wings game on Tuesday, the Liberty’s Nyara Sabally made a decisive move toward the basket, increasing New York's lead to 18-13. What’s interesting about this particular play? The player defending Nyara was VIS Mentor and the Wings’ Satou Sabally, her older sister.
“I mean she took it to me and scored,” Satou said about Nyara. “I have always preached about how good she is, how much she has improved and, I mean obviously she is such a force but she’s also so smart. The way she moves on the court, it’s amazing. I just love to see her flourish on this team and she’s on a really great team and can learn so much and it’s already [shown].”
Even though the Liberty got the better of the Wings, winning 97-74 despite Satou’s 24 points, the love between Nyara and Satou is evident. VIS is here to break down the Sabally sisters’ path to the Olympics and their relationship in the WNBA, demonstrating the power of family and support systems for athletes of any level.
Road to the Olympics
Growing up, Nyara knew playing for the senior national team was a possibility. “I [have] played for the national team ever since I was 15, so that’s basically my whole youth,” she said. “But obviously, being at the Olympics was something that was a huge achievement and it was the first time in Germany’s history that we were able to accomplish that, so that just means even more.”
The Germany Women’s National Team made history in February, finishing 2nd in their group in Olympic qualifiers, earning their first Olympic berth in team history. “It’s always been a dream of mine to go to the Olympics,” Satou told The Dallas Morning News. “I just never thought it would be possible because Germany has never been at this level. So it’s really amazing to be a part of history and be a part of the first to do so.”
“When I played with her on the national team, it was just amazing, just being able to talk with your sister on a deep level of basketball.”
Olympic Quarterfinalists
The Sabally sisters were dominant in Germany’s first game and win in women’s Olympic basketball history, upsetting favored Belgium 83-69 in group play. Satou led the team in scoring with 17 points, with Nyara scoring 16 before leaving the game with an injury. Satou seized control against Japan without her sister, dropping 33 points in a 75-64 win, qualifying Germany for the quarterfinals.
Despite Nyara dropping 20 points in her first game back from injury, Germany fell to France, the European juggernauts and eventual silver medalists. But the Germans left Paris having exceeded all expectations in their Olympic debut. “I mean it was amazing, it meant a lot obviously to us, to our family just being able to share something like that,” Nyara said. “Everything I ever did, like being at the Olympics, especially being able to share that with my sister, it was like the cherry on top.”
The Sabally sisters are treasuring their time on the national team together. In college, they didn’t get the chance to play with each other at Oregon because Nyara tore her ACL before her freshman year began. “When I played with her on the national team, it was just amazing, just being able to talk with your sister on a deep level of basketball,” Satou said. “Seeing her grit just makes me so happy because she’s been through so much and she’s just such an inspiration to me.”
The Importance of Family
The Sabally family watches the sister’s games from Germany, meaning they don’t see Satou or Nyara play in person unless they are on national team duty. The family was able to watch Satou and Nyara make history for Germany in person at the Olympics, making the Paris Games even more special for the sisters. After Germany’s win over Belgium, Satou posted an Instagram story, saying “I never get to play in front of my family in America, so this is special.”
While both the players are competitors, Satou said that there was no rivalry between the two in the WNBA. Nyara had a similar sentiment before the game when we asked her what it would be like playing her sister later that night. “Honestly, it feels normal. Just like another game. Obviously, it’s cool. It will be harder for my family than anything when they are watching, probably don’t know who to root for,” Nyara said.
While the sisters downplayed the significance of the game against each other, Satou’s Head Coach Latricia Trammell shared a different opinion. “It’s amazing right? Two sisters in the professional league. I mean, that's absolutely amazing.” Nyara and Satou Sabally had the opportunity to do something that not many other siblings get to experience: Watching each other grow both as persons and players, pushing each other to get better on the court everyday.
