How Nyara Sabally plans to cement spot in Liberty core after epic Finals showing

Nyara Sabally towered over the nurses as she walked down the fifth-floor hallway at HSS Lerner Children’s Pavilion on Wednesday morning.When she made it into the first pediatric patient’s room, she empathized with the young girl who sat on the edge of the hospital bed.“It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago I was here,” Sabally said. Sabally underwent right knee surgery at the same hospital just a month after the New York Liberty drafted her fifth overall in 2022.The recovery process delayed her WNBA debut for a year and raised further worry about her career longevity because she had already twice torn her right ACL in college.Sabally has since subdued those concerns and earned her spot in the Liberty’s future plans after she put on an epic performance to help win Game 5 of the WNBA Finals. She recorded 13 points and seven rebounds in the Liberty’s title-clinching overtime win and that showing may have played a part in why she is not a Golden State Valkyries player now. WNBA teams were allowed to protect six players from the Valkyries’ expansion draft earlier this month.Golden State ultimately took forward Kayla Thornton from the Liberty. Sabally said she was flying when the Valkyries’ picks were announced and she learned the Liberty lost Thornton when the plane landed.“Obviously, I was very sad,” said Sabally, who sent Thornton a heartfelt message.

“KT has a special place in my heart, so it was still very rough.But I would have picked her, too.

She’s a great person to pick to start a new team.Just her energy.

She’s a great vet to have.I had her for two years, and now it’s time for other people to enjoy her and to enjoy her presence.” There had been a lot of talk at the Liberty’s celebratory parade in the Canyon of Heroes about becoming one of the few teams to ever repeat as champions.

But Thornton’s departure leaves a major hole on New York’s bench. Sabally should have a larger role in 2025, and she didn’t rule o...