Satou Sabally couldn't hide her smile as she was introduced as the newest member of the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday afternoon.
"I'm super happy, super humbled and grateful to be here, to finally be able to be a part of such a legendary organization," Sabally said.
Sabally arrives in Phoenix as part of a four-team trade involving the Dallas Wings, Connecticut Sun and Indiana Fever. The trade came just 26 days after Sabally told reporters she had informed the Wings -- her former team -- that she had played her last game in Dallas and intended to leave during free agency.
Sabally was one of the most coveted free agents this offseason, but the Mercury have had her on their target list long before she announced her intentions to join a new team.
"This has been a two-year pursuit," Mercury general manager Nick U'Ren said Tuesday. "It's something we have had our eye on and our hopes up for."
At the time U'Ren took the front office position in Phoenix in 2023, Sabally was averaging a career-high 18.6 points on 43.5% shooting with 8.1 rebounds in Dallas.
"It was so easy to see how talented she was," U'Ren told ESPN.
Sabally was a restricted free agent that winter and took a meeting with the Mercury. Despite deciding to go back to Dallas for the 2024 season, seeds were planted between the 2020 No. 2 pick and the Mercury organization.
"I had great conversations with coach [Nate Tibbetts] and throughout that last year I could tell he really knows me," Sabally said. "He knows how I play, how to set me up and he knows how to make me better."
The Mercury repeatedly used the word "versatility" to highlight Sabally and describe what she brings to the team. That expands even more when pairing her alongside Alyssa Thomas, whom the Mercury acquired from the Sun, and Kahleah Copper.
"Literally, Satou and Alyssa can play 1 to 5," U'Ren told ESPN. "People throw that around a lot, but it's not an exaggeration with those two. Then, Kahleah can play so many different positions. You think about any of them being able to rebound and run and then the rest of the team filling in the wings in transition."
A 6-foot-4 big, Sabally's dominance in the paint paired with her 3-point shooting ability (she led Dallas in efficiency last season among players who took at least 40 3s, at 45.2%) makes her known as a "unicorn" throughout the WNBA.
On defense, U'Ren said Sabally can defend any player, which leans into the Mercury's heavy tendency to switch.
"I'm a player that gets a lot of tips and deflections," Sabally said. "When you guard that top post that swings the ball a lot, that's an important position to guard. And even on the inside, outside, I can switch wherever."
Sabally joins Phoenix with an open mind toward what the team will ask her to do and an eagerness to learn not only from her current teammates but those who played for the Mercury before her.
"Hopefully I'll get to talk to [Diana Taurasi] and soak up all of her wisdom because she has done it before me and I see it as drive," Sabally said.
She continued: "When you go into a place where there is a winning culture set, and I can identify with that, I'm able to be my fullest self and can work on myself without feeling weird about wanting so many hours in the gym. This is just expected."