According to ESPN’s injuries list, Satou Sabally is out day-to-day with an estimated return date of Aug. 5. What makes it a little bit odd is that there are no comments listed as to what the injury or issue may be. So, you know, people wonder.
It’s been a bit of a funky year for Sabally. She was playing great on her new team in Phoenix, looking worthy of mention in the MVP discussion in some people’s eyes. She was an All-Star! Just killing it.
Then an injury happened. These things do occur.
She came back in about three weeks, though! However, things looked a little out of sorts. She’s only scored in the double digits twice in the five games back, and has gone 3-of-21 from 3. Then, on August first, she was benched in the second half of a game.
Then this happens:
Satou Sabally (personal) ruled out Sunday.
— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) August 3, 2025
Satou Sabally missed yesterday’s game for personal reasons.
Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
Well, I don’t know what you’re thinking, and I very rarely think, so it’s unlikely.
I will say, though, this chain of events seems to point a certain direction. In fact, I assembled them to show that you could. I’m positioning, positing that Satou’s absence could have had something to do with her benching.
There are two reasons I would like you to reconsider this.
Firstly, the truth is usually boring. In my experience anyway, the ultimate explanation for something isn’t some genius “aha” moment, it’s the “dang it, why didn’t I notice this earlier” moment. Just because it’d be exciting for everything to peak at the notion of Satou ragequitting the team for a game doesn’t make it more likely. It just makes it something more people might want to be true, for whatever weird reason.
Secondly, it has been reported by azcentral that, “Tibbetts said her absence doesn't have to do with her recent benching.”
I would very much like to take people at her word here. It’s very rare for one single factor to make a choice. If that’s the case, it’s because that one factor is just too powerful for any other to make a dent, or because the person choosing is not deliberating deeply enough. I just don’t see a world where Satou is so overwhelmed by missing 20 minutes of play that it could be an all-consuming motivator.
I can also see a world where it does play a small factor in a greater decision. That makes sense to me.
Ultimately, if Satou is out, then her reasons are her own. That’s all we are to know right now. If they’re ever made public by her choice, I’m sure I’d love to hear why.