Satou Sabally outlines stark difference between Germany & USA Olympic teams: "We've people on the team with jobs"

Satou Sabally was at the forefront as the German women’s national team made history by securing a spot in the Paris Olympics for the first time in 2023. She spearheaded the team's efforts in the final game despite suffering from a separated shoulder.

Looking back at the historic moment for her national team, Sabally, who still has not played this WNBA season for the Dallas Wings due to the same shoulder injury, emphasized the significance of their breakthrough win and appearance at the Olympics in the Podcast P with Paul George.

“It means everything. It’s like a dream come true. I still really can’t believe it that I’m going to be in the Olympics because I never really thought that Germany could go that far,” Satou Sabally said. (1:04:54 - 1:05:05).

Sabally continued by illustrating the contrast between Germany's roster and Team USA’s Olympic team, which boasts a stacked 12-women roster. She even noted that some of the German players have day jobs aside from playing basketball.

“Nobody would have thought. We have people in the team with jobs, so this is really special to us. This is not like America where we have 12 All-Star on the team. We really fought for this so hard,” Sabally said.

Also included in Germany’s national squad are international players such as Leonie Fiebich, Satou’s sister, Nyara Sabally, and UCLA’s Lina Sontag. Other players based in Germany are Alexandra Wilke, Theresa Simon, Jennifer Crowder, and team captain Svenja Brunckhorst.

---

Satou Sabally reveals learnings guarding A’ja Wilson and other WNBA stars

In the same podcast, Satou Sabally revealed the challenges of guarding elite players in the WNBA, citing A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces as her hardest match-up so far.

"When I go against A'ja, to me, she's like, 'OK, let me crack that code. Let me measure myself against her,'" Sabally said. (Timestamp: 58:35.) "Because she's the player that blocks me the most. From year to year to year, it became less, I became better.”

Sabally added that she is always up for the challenge of whoever is in front of her, as she thrives to be a better player for the rest of her career. Both Sabally and Wilson played in the Western Conference and faced each other in the WNBA playoffs last year.