She's known as "The Unicorn."
Satou Sabally embraces that nickname as a self-described "positionless player" and is excited to bring her wide-ranging skill set to the Dallas Wings. She's the headliner for the Wings' 2020 draft class as the second overall pick taken on Friday night.
"I can play every kind of position," said Sabally, the former Oregon standout. "I can dribble. I can create ball screens, shoot the ball very well. I can post up. I'm really just a player that does what the coach demands. Whatever Coach (Brian) Agler wants from me, I will do."
What the Wings will want is for Sabally to become a cornerstone piece for a winning franchise. The organization hasn't had a winning season since coming to DFW in 2016, going just 10-24 last season.
But Agler is a respected coach who has won two WNBA championships and the organization has been busy acquiring players who are accustomed to winning.
Sabally is coming from an Oregon program that went to the Elite Eight in 2018, the Final Four in 2019 and would have been ranked among the favorites to win the championship this season (had it been held).
"You want players who are accustomed to competing at the highest level and winning," said Greg Bibb, the Wings' CEO and president. "You want players who come from programs that do it the right way and hold their players to the highest level of accountability. This is the best basketball league in the world. Every night is a battle in the WNBA. You have to look for players who come from those kinds of situations."
Plenty of expectations have been on Oregon's women's basketball team the past few seasons. After all, the Ducks had the top two picks in this year's WNBA Draft with star Sabrina Ionescu going to the New York Liberty as the No. 1 overall pick followed by Sabally to Dallas.
Speaking of Ionescu, the Wings never really had a conversation about trying to trade up to the No. 1 overall pick to acquire the star, who is regarded as a generational talent.
"When we were fortunate enough to garner the second pick, we started to think about who could be there," Bibb said. "Once Satou declared for the draft, she quickly became someone we focused on."
"She fits what we're looking for. We're looking for versatility. We're looking for a player who can shoot the ball well for their position and she certainly fits that bill. We're excited to have her in Dallas."
The Wings feel Sabally also has a chance to be a generational-type player such as Ionescu. There's a reason she's called "The Unicorn."
The 6-foot-4 Sabally averaged 16.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game as a junior for the Ducks last season, opting to turn pro rather than finishing her college eligibility.
That decision paid off for the Wings. Sabally is already being linked to another German basketball icon in DFW, former Dallas Mavericks great Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki reached out to Sabally on social media to welcome her to town.
"When you talk about German basketball, you see Dirk's face," Sabally said. "For him to be reaching out and tweeting to me means so much. It shows that German basketball players stick together, support each other. I'm just really excited to get down there."
