Why is Satou Sabally not playing vs Aces? (June 5)

Reigning WNBA Most Improved Player Satou Sabally of the Dallas Wings will remain out for their scheduled showdown against two-time defending league champions the Las Vegas Aces on Wednesday as she continues to recuperate from a shoulder injury she suffered in the offseason.

The 26-year-old German-American wing injured her left shoulder while competing for Germany at an Olympic qualifying tournament in Brazil back in February. She had surgery on it after and is expected to fully recover.

Satou Sabally, the second overall pick in the 2020 draft, had a solid season last year for the Wings, posting career-highs of 18.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.8 steals.

It earned her a second WNBA All-Star selection and won the Most Improved Player of the Year Award. Along the way, she helped the Wings to the fourth seed in the playoffs, making it to the semifinals before they lost to the Aces in three games.

Dallas Wings expect Satou Sabally to return after the Olympics

The Wings are not expecting Satou Sabally to return until after the Olympics, where she is hopefully fully healed from her injury and ready to roll.

Team president and CEO Greg Bibb shared this as he gave an update on one of their stars back in April, saying (by way of ESPN):

"She's on schedule with her rehab. We expect Satou to come back around the Olympic break, be ready to compete for Germany in the Olympics, and then see her for sure in a Dallas Wings jersey over the final 15 games of the regular-season post-Olympic break."

Dallas will play their last game before the WNBA takes a break for the Paris Olympics on July 17 against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever.

It then returns on Aug. 16 in a home game against the Connecticut Sun, which should mark Satou Sabally's return.

Dallas Wings trying to hold the fort in the absence of Satou Sabally

While they could surely use the on-court skills of Satou Sabally in the ongoing WNBA season, the Wings are managing to hold the fort in her absence.

Heading into their scheduled game against the Aces on Wednesday, Dallas has won three of their first seven games.

The team is doing it with a balanced attack, with five players scoring 12 points or more.

Leading the way is Arike Ogunbowale, who is averaging 26.6 points, to go along with 4.9 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.9 steals. Natasha Howard is next with 15 points a game.

The other double-digit scorers for the Wings are Monique Billings (14 ppg), Maddy Siegrist (13.4 ppg) and Teaira McCown (12.3 ppg).

Greg Bibb spoke of their team sans Satou Sabally:

"Fortunately, we have a deep and talented roster that we've been building over the last 3-4 years. And while you can never truly replace [Sabally], I think we can hold the fort down until she gets back."

The game against the Aces is the first at home for the Wings after playing their previous five matches on the road.