Mercury Star Satou Sabally Gives Standout Undrafted WNBA Rookie Ringing Endorsement

Phoenix Mercury star Satou Sabally had high praise for her WNBA rookie teammate following a standout performance in a win over the Golden State Valkyries.

Mercury guard Lexi Held (1) celebrates with forward Satou Sabally (0) after securing a lead against the Valkyries during a game at PHX Arena in Phoenix, on June 5, 2025. | Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Paige Bueckers, Kiki Iriafen, Sonia Citron. The talent from this year’s WNBA rookie class has been on full display early this season. But it wasn’t a top five pick grabbing the headlines last night. It was Lexi Held, undrafted out of DePaul in 2022, who scored a career-high 24 points in the Mercury’s 86-77 win over Golden State.

Held’s performance certainly caught the eye of her teammates. Satou Sabally showered Held in praise after Thursday night’s game, saying, “Honestly, I would even make a case that she could make Rookie of the Year. Not only on offense, but on defense. Putting that lock on people, defending relentlessly every single game is also something that should be highlighted.”

Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally says Lexi Held has a Rookie of the Year case based on her play on both ends of the floor up to this point.#WNBA pic.twitter.com/VnTlkercrF

— Desert Wave Media (@DesertWaveCo) June 6, 2025

Shooting 7/15 from the field and 4/9 from deep, Held’s 24 points were the most by a rookie in a game this season. This comes after a 16-point outburst against Minnesota on Tuesday.

An unforgettable night for Rookie Lexi Held ✨

She pushed the @PhoenixMercury past the Valkyries with a standout performance, notching a career-high and the most points by a rookie this season ⬇️

24 PTS
7-15 FGM
4-9 3PM
2 AST#WelcometotheW | WNBA Commissioner's Cup presented… pic.twitter.com/E8zMpanP6h

— WNBA (@WNBA) June 6, 2025

Mercury head coach Nate Tibbets was also complimentary of Held’s play on both ends of the floor. “She’s little but she’s fierce,” said Tibbets. “We’re talking about her offense but she guards too which is awesome.”

Her career-best performance was a clutch one as well. Held drained a go-ahead, step back three with just over a minute remaining, firing up the Mercury bench in the process.

CLUTCH THREE BY LEXI HELD SECURES THE 1-POINT LEAD FOR THE MERCURY 🤯

GSV-PHX | WNBA Commissioner's Cup presented by @coinbase pic.twitter.com/DbLpPVhdF8

— WNBA (@WNBA) June 6, 2025

Held went undrafted in 2022 after four strong years at Depaul and has since spent time playing overseas in Australia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, and Sweden. She signed a training camp contract with Phoenix in March and was named to the final roster before the season.

On a 6-3 Mercury team with a trio of stars and exciting young talent, Held’s emergence in the last week will come as a welcome addition to an already strong squad. And her shot creation ability was on full display against the Valkyries. While Sabally might be a little early on the Rookie of the Year train, Held’s play of late has simultaneously sparked the Mercury and garnered attention from around the league.