Liberty Player Preview 2025: Nyara Sabally
The trophy is stored, the confetti is cleared, the rings have been sized, and the banner will be raised. Now comes the question: what can the New York Liberty possibly do for an encore?
The Liberty's roster is set for its first postseason championship defense, which gets underway this week as the WNBA prepares to tip off its 29th season. Fresh the famous five-game win over the Minnesota Lynx in last fall's Finals, the Liberty now seek to bring another parade to Manhattan and Brooklyn after ending the long wait for the original.
With the season quickly approaching, New York Liberty on SI will go through each player's 2025 outlook on a case-by-case basis.
Player: Nyara Sabally
Height/Position: 6-5, Center
From: Oregon
Experience: 3rd season
2024 Stats: 4.9 points, 4.0 rebounds
How Acquired: 1st Round pick in 2022 draft (5th overall)
The Story So Far
Last season, the Liberty were propelled to a title by the efforts of a former Oregon Duck acquired at the start of the decade ... also, Sabrina Ionescu was on the team.
Obviously, Ionescu played her part in fulfilling the long-standing metropolitan championship prophecy but Sabally unexpectedly pushed New York over the top with perhaps the most perfectly-timed breakout in the history of women's basketball: rising from the depths of a defensive slog in the deciding game of the WNBA Finals, the younger sister of fellow Duck and fellow veteran Satou Sabally broke loose for 13 points and seven rebounds in the 67-62 triumph over the Minnesota Lynx.
It was part of a triumphant year for the junior Sabally, who also earned the honor of (briefly) repping her native Germany at the Olympic Games in Paris. Injuries ate away at a good part of her early progress, including back issues that took her out for a good part of last year's first half. Sabally's rookie year was completely wiped out her debut Liberty season in 2022. Paris proved to be no place to hide from the injury bug, as Sabally endured a head injury in the opening game of group play that interrupted her ringed showing.
But now, Sabally appears to be an established part of both the Liberty's present and future: shortly before a preseason showcase on the campus of her alma mater Oregon, New York management picked up the fourth-year option on Sabally's rookie contract.
They Said It
"I watched it back, I had a lot of people tell me it was really cool. It was a surreal experience to be able to be a part of something that great and to have an impact on the court means a lot. This was a moment I was working towards my whole life, so being able to be a part of that and win it with the team, and the coaches that poured so much into it, our owners, the organization that poured so much into this team, you can tell like it definitely was felt. It made us want to fight so much harder to bring a championship to New York."-Sabally on Game 5
"I don't really think it's that much pressure necessarily, because, at the end of the day, it's just a basketball game, and it's me doing what I love is, which is being on the court playing basketball, and I'm going to give it my all, no matter what, no matter if the price is there or not, I always try to be consistent and play the same way. So I'm going to continue doing that and I'm pretty sure the results are going to show."-Sabally on the pressure she faces in 2025
2025 Outlook
Beyond her health, Sabally takes on a unique personal challenge in 2025: how does she makes the extraordinary the ordinary?
There's a well-established sense of trust in the Liberty system as it stands, with Sabally standing as the undisputed spell option in the interior now that seasoned veterans Stefanie Dolson and Kayla Thornton are gone. There were certainly hints of Sabally creating some sort of lasting power during the Liberty's post-Olympic portions.
Perhaps further fueled by missing some of the Olympics, Sabally placed second (behind only Phoenix's Natasha Mack) among WNBA reserves (min. 20 games played) in rebounds per game (11.9) when adjusted for per 40-minute outputs. That number moved up to 12.6 after the break (once again second to Mack) and her average plus/minus (min. 10 games played) was 10.9, best among frontcourt subs and behind only Connecticut's Veronica Burton and Marina Mabrey.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
Geoff Magliocchetti is a veteran sportswriter who contributes to a variety of sites on the "On SI" network. In addition to the Yankees/Mets, Geoff also covers the New York Knicks, New York Liberty, and New York Giants and has previously written about the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Staten Island Yankees, and NASCAR.