Phoenix Mercury May Have Found an Unexpected Solution to Their Satou Sabally Problem
The Phoenix Mercury didn’t have a great offseason. They lost Satou Sabally, their leading scorer from last season’s finals team, to the New York Liberty, and couldn’t convince any big-time free agent to come to Phoenix and replace her. That leaves the Mercury with one all-important question: How will they replace Satou Sabally’s production?
Without Sabally there, Kahleah Copper, Alyssa Thomas, and DeWanna Bonner can take more shots, but the team needs more than that to be able to compete with the likes of Las Vegas, New York, Indiana, and Atlanta.
The answer may very well be Valeriane Ayayi. It sounds far-fetched at first. After all, Sabally is a three-time WNBA All-Star and Ayayi only played 15 games in the W with the San Antonio Stars back in 2015. But Ayayi has been a very productive player in Europe and on the international stage.
Valeriane Ayayi can fill up a stat sheet and contribute to winning basketball
Ayayi started playing professionally in 2012. She currently plays for USK Praha, which she joined for a second stint with the team in 2022. This past season, she averaged 15.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. She finished tied with Murjanatu Musa for eighth place in total points scored among all EuroLeague players. Her team’s quarter-final play-in exit was a far cry from its 2024-25 success, though.
Last year, Praha won the EuroLeague championship, and Ayayi was a big part of that success. She finished seventh in total points scored among all EuroLeague players and eighth in rebounds per game. She was Praha’s leader in minutes and finished second in points and rebounds per game behind WNBA All-Star Brionna Jones. Ayayi’s efforts were rewarded with All-Defensive and All-EuroLeague Third Team honors.
Ayayi’s success in EuroLeague competitions leaves little doubt about her ability to score and play with the best, but she has also proven it on the international stage. She was France’s second-leading scorer behind Gabby Williams in a 66-67 gold medal loss to a stacked Team USA squad at the Paris Olympics and was named to the Olympic All-Star Five Second Team alongside Ezinne Kalu, Julie Vanloo, Satou Sabally, and Ezi Magbegor.
Phoenix is trying to find contributors among undrafted talent
Since free agency was not very successful for the Mercury and they didn’t have a first-round pick this year, the organization is obviously trying to find some diamonds in the rough. Besides Ayayi they signed undrafted college stars Yarden Garzon, Maggie Doogan, and Kara Dunn to training camp contracts, as well as Belgian veteran Kyara Linskens.
While there is plenty of untapped potential on the Mercury’s training camp roster, Ayayi has the best track record and promises the most production right away.
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Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.