Women's Fastbreak On SI

Satou Sabally Affirms Sue Bird's Unrivaled, WNBA Free Agency Take

WNBA superstar Satou Sabally confirmed that Sue Bird's sentiment on Unrivaled's affect on free agency is accurate.
Grant Young|
Sep 24, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally (0) speaks to the press before game one of the 2023 WNBA Playoffs at Michelob Ultra Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Sep 24, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally (0) speaks to the press before game one of the 2023 WNBA Playoffs at Michelob Ultra Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

During a January 15 episode of her A Touch More podcast, basketball legend Sue Bird got honest about the first thing that came to her mind when hearing about the new Unrivaled 3x3 women's basketball league, and the many WNBA superstars who'd be playing together in it.

"Oh my god, there's gonna be so many superteams formed in Unrivaled," Bird said to her co-host and fiancée Megan Rapinoe with a laugh.

“The WNBA free agency chatter that must be happening in the training room, when they’re out shopping, when they're getting some coffee, has got to be next level," Bird continued. "It used to be what we did during USA basketball camps because that was really one of the few times where the top talent was in the same place at the same time for consecutive days. And now they're together for two months during WNBA free agency.

"The level of recruiting, I can only imagine for some people," Bird added.

"I would be paying for Satou's coffees," Rapinoe then added, referencing elite wing Satou Sabally, who announced last week that she has played her final game with the Dallas Wings and will be seeking a new WNBA team this offseason.

Sabally brought up Bird's words when speaking with the media on January 16.

“It’s really true,” Sabally said of the comments, per a January 19 article from Margaret Fleming of Front Office Sports. “You’re able to talk to other players directly and you can figure out what do they have, what type of resources, how important is their team to the owners? If you have an owner of a team that doesn’t prioritize the women’s team, they’re going to talk about it. And that’s a place where I would less likely like to go.”

“And I’ve received a couple coffees,” she added. “I’m allowed, I’m allowed.”

It will be fascinating to see which of these coffee conversations results in Sabally's next WNBA destination.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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