WNBA MIP Satou Sabally 'Grateful' for Mentorship of Mavs Icon Dirk Nowitzki
DALLAS — After a strong regular season campaign averaging 18.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.8 steals this season, Dallas Wings star Satou Sabally set career-highs across the board and was named the WNBA's Most Improved Player of the Year. She averaged 11.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 0.5 steals in 2022.
“It means a lot for what I stand for: International basketball and women’s basketball," Sabally said. "It’s a great honor.”
Sabally's mentor, Dirk Nowitzki, along with various members of the Dallas Mavericks organization, attended the Wings' Game 2 victory over the Atlanta Dream. In the 101-74 victory, Sabally was instrumental in the victory, recording 13 points, four rebounds, six assists, one steal, and one block in 34 minutes.
"I'm super excited for her," Nowitzki said about Sabally being named the WNBA Most Improved Player of the Year. "First of all, we met a few years ago before she was even drafted and just been following her career closely. I'm super proud of her and the way she improved from year to year. I think she works extremely hard. She goes to Europe and plays. She comes here and is a better player for the next WNBA season.
"She's been incredible — how she's been able to grow along with the team,' Nowitzki explained. "It's been fun to watch. I'm happy for her, and the whole atmosphere — there's nothing better than it."
Sabally was happy to see Nowitzki in attendance, as the two have had a relationship as fellow German basketball standouts for years. Other members of the Mavs organization in attendance were Tim Hardaway Jr., Grant Williams, Dereck Lively II, Olivier-Maxence Prosper, coach Jason Kidd, and Vice President of Basketball Operations Michael Finley.
"I'm super happy he made it to the game and brought some people along from the Mavs,' Sabally said of Nowitzki. "So shout out to them. That was really nice."
Sabally remains grateful to have him as a resource to discuss the nuances of the game. An example of a recent exchange involved a discussion about navigating traps on pick-and-rolls.
"We were talking a little bit about me getting trapped of pick-and-roll," Sabally said of her conversation with Nowitzki. "Picking his brain a little bit on that and talking other basketball things after the game. It's always great to have a brain like him as a resource [and is] something that I definitely make use of. I am definitely grateful for that."
Before Nowitzki was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in August, Sabally spoke to DallasBasketball.com about the impact of Nowitzki's legacy on her basketball journey. She shared her admiration for the longstanding impact of Nowitzki's legacy in Germany, Dallas, and on the game of basketball at large.
"I think he has really established basketball culture in Berlin," Sabally said. "He definitely pushed it forward with his name, image and likeness. Everyone was just on the basketball wave and that was kind of the time I started playing basketball.
"He's a legend," Sabally explained. "I'm super thankful what he's done for the game and the fact that I'm even here in Dallas with him is even more special."
Sabally will next look to lead the Wings to a playoff series win over a star-studded Las Vegas Aces squad in a best-of-five series in the Western Conference Semifinals. It all begins during Game 1 at Michelob Ultra Arena in Vegas.
