Satou Sabally asks to leave Wings, find new team: ‘I’ve already played my last game in Dallas’
Two-time WNBA All-Star Satou Sabally has communicated with the Dallas Wings her desire to play for another franchise next season.
“I’ve already communicated with Dallas how grateful I am because they’ve made this a home for me for the last (five) years,” Sabally said Thursday at a news conference ahead of the debut season of Unrivaled, a new 3×3 offseason league co-founded by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. “I’m working with them together to find the next home for me because I’ve already played my last game in Dallas.
“I’m excited for free agency. I’m able to talk to a lot of players out the league because I have not played on a different team yet and I’m excited to get to know them more on a personal level, but also how they approach the game.”
Sabally, a 2023 All-WNBA first-team forward, has spent her entire five-season career with the Wings after the franchise selected her with the No. 2 pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft.
Sabally is an unrestricted free agent and will be one of the most sought-after free agents. Still, the Wings can core her if they so choose. If they do, Sabally could only move to another team via a sign and trade. Dallas can extend a qualifying offer to core-eligible players on Jan. 11.
Dallas is in a period of organizational transition, having brought in a new coach (Chris Koclanes) and general manager (Curt Miller) this offseason. Koclanes, a first-year head coach, joins the franchise after 1 1/2 seasons as an assistant coach at USC and eight seasons as a WNBA assistant, all under Miller. Miller, meanwhile, joined Dallas after it went 9-31 last season and previously coached the Los Angeles Sparks and Connecticut Sun.
“The word for us this year is foundational,” Miller said Thursday at Koclanes’ introductory news conference. “We’re trying to create a true foundation not only in style of play and what our pillars are on and off the floor but also in free agency.”
“You have to compliment Satou’s career to this point,” he added. “When healthy, she is an elite player and is a difference maker. You realize the talent she is. We absolutely recognize the talent and what she means to and what she can impact this league.”
Koclanes joins the Wings at a pivotal point in the franchise’s history. With star guard Arike Ogunbowale still under contract, the Wings also hold the rights to the No. 1 pick in April’s 2025 WNBA Draft, where UConn star Paige Bueckers is the presumed selection if she elects to turn pro. As Dallas eyes its fourth playoff appearance in five seasons, it does so with a move coming in the near future. The franchise is targeting a relocation from Arlington to downtown Dallas by the start of the 2026 season, planning to open a new practice facility that year and undergoing broader business transformations.
Sabally, it appears, will not take part in that next stage.
“At first they were still trying, but I think what is most effective is working with the player and listening to their wishes and hearing out how we can find a best solution for each other,” she said Thursday. “There was always great communication, more so on the agent front now because I need to focus on Unrivaled, and I will. I have good communication with them.”
Sabally missed the majority of last season after sustaining a shoulder injury last winter while playing with the German national team. However, she still averaged 17.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Dallas Wings, WNBA
2025 The Athletic Media Company
