Satou Sabally

Satou Sabally is a German-American professional basketball player born on April 25, 1998, in New York City. She is 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm) tall and plays at the Small Forward position for the Dallas Wings. Sabally has won the WNBA Most Improved Player of the Year in 2023 and is also a EuroLeague champion (2023) among other impressive accolades. In the year 2020, she announced her availability for the WNBA draft and was picked with the 2nd overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings, where she has stayed as of August 2024. Since then, Sabally has been an All-Star in the WNBA twice, proving herself as one of the top players to look out for.

Sabally’s journey started with the University of Oregon where she played college basketball for the Ducks. Her effect was felt right from her first year in college, where she was averaging 10. 7 points and 3. 8 rebounds per game, which made her to be selected in the Pac-12 all-Freshman team. But it was in her second season that she came into her own, starting all 38 games and becoming one of the most potent players in the NCAA. She also received All-American honours and WBCA honours.

Satou Sabally Early Life

Sabally was born in New York City. Her father is from Gambia and her mother is German, hence Sabally was a mixed-race child and felt like she did not belong to either side of the family. Family holidays were a source of happiness and confusion to her as she once said, “Wherever I am, I don’t feel like I am 100% anything”, according to BBC Sport.

On the German side of the family, Sabally is seen as the black girl, while on the Gambian side of the family, she is the white girl. This along with her cultural struggles have in turn led her to realize that she can be a lot of things and should not have to change for anyone else.

Satou Sabally Personal Life

Satou Sabally was born to parents Jerreh Sabally and Heike Krone. Her father Jerreh, is Gambian by descent while her mother is of German descent. She has six siblings, one of whom is Nyara Sabally, who is also a WNBA player now, who is 24 years old and plays for the New York Liberty.

The pair of sisters now see themselves playing for the German Women’s National Basketball Team in the 2024 Olympics. She also has a brother, Lamin Sabally who competes collegiately for the University of the Incarnate World (San Antonio, USA).

Satou Sabally Family Background

Satou Sabally was born in New York City to a multicultural couple. Her family relocated to Gambia when she was two years old and then to Berlin, Germany when she was seven years old; she completed her schooling and high school at Rotteck Gymnasium, Freiburg, Germany and then attended the University of Oregon in the USA.

Satou Sabally boyfriend

Satou Sabally is in a relationship with Jalen Jelks, a former American football player. Jelks, who played for the Dallas Cowboys as a defensive end, measures 6 feet 5 inches in height and has a weight of 256 pounds.

Both Sabally and Jelks have a common interest in their respective sport, making their relationship a likely possibility. They met at the University of Oregon and their bond has developed in Dallas, where Sabally currently plays for the Dallas Wings and Jelks was a Defensive tight-end for the Dallas Cowboys, however, he was released in order to make room for the signing of the free agent defensive end Everson Griffen.

Satou Sabally Social Media

Satou Sabally is a prominent figure on Instagram with about 2,49,000 followers, where she posts her latest outfits along with news about her sporting career. Her Instagram handle is @satou_sabally. She is also an active member on X (formerly Twitter), where she has the username @satou_sabally.

Satou Sabally Brand Ambassador

Having won the EuroLeague in 2023, Sabally was also invested in a series focused on EuroLeague Women players, Proudly Woman. She was featured ahead of the season finale, where she explained the importance of being more than just an athlete, as she believes that she has been provided with a platform to influence other socio-cultural issues and believes in speaking up for the right cause. “If I can help in a certain type of way by being an ambassador, then I am doing my part”, says Sabally, stressing her responsibilities beyond just playing basketball, as per EuroLeague Women.

In 2022, as Nike was building basketball courts all around the world, they chose the German Satou Sabally to create a safe space for young girls to enjoy basketball. They collaborated to refurbish a local basketball court at Tempelhofer Feld, a public park that used to be an airport. Apart from this, she has also been part of the Mercedes EQS line, showcasing their new cars and using them herself as she feels that they are the perfect fit for her own driving needs.

Satou Sabally Career Stats

Satou Sabally has gradually improved since joining the WNBA with the Dallas Wings in 2020. Her rookie year saw her perform well in rebounding with 7.8 per game and scoring 13.9 points per game which saw her ranked third for Rookie of the Year.

Her overall statistics changed in the following years, yet Sabally’s performance was gradually increasing. She improved her shooting efficiencies, especially from the three-point line. She also raised her playmaking responsibilities and consequently, her assists per game.

The 2023 season was the year that Sabally really came into her own. She averaged a career-high 18.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game while shooting a decent 43.5% from the field and 36.1% from 3, in the 2023 WNBA season. She was able to perform exceptionally well and even ranked fifth in the league MVP award.

Satou Sabally Achievements

WNBA All-Star

Sabally was nominated as a WNBA All-Star in the 2021 and 2023 WNBA seasons, cementing her candidature as one of the league's top players.

All-WNBA First Team

Sabally was selected into the All-WNBA First Team in 2023 and was ranked among the best players in the WNBA.

WNBA Most Improved Player

Sabally received the Most Improved Player Award in 2023 for her breakout season in the same year, in which she showed significant growth and development.

WNBA All-Rookie Team

Impressed in her first WNBA season and was selected to the All-Rookie Team in 2020.

EuroLeague Champion

Sabally won the top European women's basketball league, which is the EuroLeague in 2023.

Turkish Super League Champion

Sabally repeatedly dominated the Turkish League by winning the coveted championship 3 times in a row in the years 2021, 2022 and 2023.

All-EuroLeague First Team

Sabally was recognized as one of Europe's top players and was selected into the All-EuroLeague First Team in 2022.

Cheryl Miller Award

Sabally received the prestigious award for best college player in the year 2020.

WBCA Coaches' All-American

Sabally was honoured by top college coaches and won the WBCA Coaches’ All-American award in 2020.

Second-team All-American (AP, USBWA)

Sabally was recognized as a top college player and was selected in the Second-team All-American team in 2020.

All-Pac-12

Sabally was a top player in the Pac-12 conference due to which she received a nomination to the All-Pac-12 in the years 2019 and 2020.

Pac-12 Freshman of the Year

Sabally was the best rookie in the Pac-12 and hence received this award in 2018.

Pac-12 All-Freshman Team

As Sabally was among the best first-year players in the Pac-12 in 2018, she was selected in the All-Freshman Team in 2018.

Satou Sabally Contract

Satou Sabally is currently on a 1-year, $195,000 contract with the Dallas Wings, which she signed in 2024 and includes an annual salary of $195,000 and all of it is guaranteed. Before this, Sabally was on her rookie contract with the Dallas Wings, which was a 3-year $217,597 deal and included an average salary of $71,199, which she signed in her rookie year, 2020.

Satou Sabally Cars

According to the Mercedes EQS page, Satou Sabally has personally vetted and verified the efficiency of the Mercedes EQS series and reportedly “loves being on the road with her EQS”. She has been regularly seen sporting the car in some of her Instagram reels and also has professional-grade photos of herself in her car. She says she always dreamed about owning one, but never really believed it would happen. Not much is known about her other cars.