New teams for two German national basketball players: The two center players Luisa Geiselsöder and Nyara Sabally were selected by two new WNBA teams in the “Expansion Draft” on Friday evening.
With the second pick, Toronto strengthened its pace with Nyara Sabally, who had played with the New York Liberty since 2023. Geiselsöder, like Sabally a top performer in the national team, was selected as the third player by the Portland Fire. The 26-year-old made her breakthrough with the Dallas Wings last season.
Nyara Sabally swaps the New York Liberty jersey for the Toronto Tempo jersey
Toronto and Portland will join the WNBA next season, expanding the league to 15 teams. In the expansion draft, the two franchises each put together eleven players from the squads of the 13 existing teams. Each of these teams had the right to select five players who were not available for Toronto and Portland.
Satou Sabally remains in Phoenix, Leonie Fiebich in New York
It can be assumed, for example, that Phoenix Mercury had blocked access to Nyara Sabally’s older sister Satou, who is one of the league’s star players. National team colleague Leonie Fiebich is also likely to have been one of the five protected Liberty players. In 2024, Fiebich and Nyara Sabally won the WNBA title with the New York Liberty.
Satou Sabally led the Phoenix Mercury to the WNBA Finals last season
The WNBA season is scheduled to start on May 8th, and the league and the players’ union recently agreed on a new collective agreement. Before that, the draft with the best talent from colleges and international leagues will take place on April 13th. Toronto and Portland will then also add to the squad they put together in the expansion draft.
