Would Sabally lace up for Finals Game 4?
On October 8, the Las Vegas Aces took down the Phoenix Mercury 90-88 and handed them their third straight defeat in the 2025 WNBA Finals. The Mercury, who were hoping to make a comeback in the league’s first-ever best-of-seven series, failed to make most of their home-court advantage, and were pushed to 0-3 following the defeat. However, this wasn’t the only concern for the hosts after Wednesday night’s game. The Mercury lost their star player Satou Sabally to an apparent head injury, further dimming their championship hopes.
In the fourth quarter of Game 3, Sabally went up for a shot and made contact with Las Vegas’ guard Jackie Young. While coming down from her elevation, Sabally tried to grab an offensive rebound. However, during the same she got tangled up with Young and fell to the ground, and collided with Kierstan Bell’s knee.
While Young was called for a loose-ball foul, Sabally immediately grabbed her face. The three-time WNBA All-Star stayed on the court for several minutes before trying to get up but going down again. She was then helped to get off the court and walked to the tunnel. Sabally didn’t return to the game and finished the night with 24 points, five rebounds, and three assists, the second-highest for Phoenix.
After the Game 3 loss, head coach Nate Tibbetts was asked about Satou Sabally’s injury update. He said that the star forward wasn’t in the locker room and he hadn’t heard any updates about her. However, as per an orthopedic trained doctor on X, she sustained a serious injury on her head and neck which was rotational and compressive in nature. There was also a direct hit to one of the most vulnerable areas of the skull called the temple.
These types of injuries raise concerns for both concussion and potential cervical spine involvement, including spinal cord compression or cervical cord neuropraxia. This indicates that Phoenix might have to appear in Game 4 without Sabally, presenting a bigger challenge for the hosts to climb out of their three-game hole and record a win and force a Game 5.
However, official reports are awaited and her status for Game 4 would be decided by that.
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