Liberty Lose Star Forward Satou Sabally for Rest of Season After Second Concussion in a Year
New York's playoff push takes a major hit as three-time All-Star Satou Sabally is ruled out through the postseason, still symptomatic from a head injury suffered in June.
The New York Liberty's bid to get back atop the WNBA took a serious blow on Thursday, when the club announced that three-time All-Star forward Satou Sabally will miss the rest of the 2026 season, including the playoffs, while she recovers from a concussion.
Sabally, 28, hasn't played since June 23, when she took a blow to the head from Las Vegas forward NaLyssa Smith during a win over the Aces. She cleared the WNBA's concussion protocol by mid-August but continued experiencing symptoms and ultimately stepped away from the team. It marks her second head injury in less than a year — she was also concussed while playing for the Phoenix Mercury in the 2025 WNBA Finals.
In 13 games this season, limited earlier by a knee issue, Sabally averaged 10.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists in roughly 17 minutes a night.
A costly gap in the rotation
The timing stings. New York, the 2024 champion, fired coach Sandy Brondello after a first-round playoff exit in 2025 and hired Golden State assistant Chris DeMarco in the offseason, then landed Sabally on a discounted two-year, $1.6 million deal to pair with Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu. Instead, the Liberty enter the season's final stretch sitting sixth in the standings at 24-16, still fighting for playoff position with Sabally, Ionescu and Leonie Fiebich all dealing with injuries at various points.
"Right now I have to listen to my body, put my health first and prioritize my full recovery," Sabally wrote on social media.
DeMarco framed the decision as a medical one rather than a setback the team could rush. "This is under the guidance of our performance team," he said. "Just for now, she's taking some time away and making sure she's healthy."
To fill the roster spot, the Liberty converted forward Anneli Maley — a former Sabally and Ionescu teammate at Oregon — from a developmental deal to a standard contract, making her eligible for the postseason roster.
With six games left in the regular season, New York is locked in a tight battle with Washington for playoff seeding. How the Liberty replace Sabally's two-way versatility off the bench will go a long way toward determining whether their playoff run ends quickly again — or whether this year's roster overhaul was enough to compensate.