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Former Oregon star Nyara Sabally to miss 2022 season with New York Liberty

Jarrid Denneyby:Jarrid Denney•04/15/22•

jarrid_denney

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Photo by Christopher Hook/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Nyara Sabally became just the 12th Oregon player in program history to be selected in the WNBA Draft earlier this week when the New York Liberty drafted her fifth overall.

But it sounds as though the start of Sabally’s pro career will be delayed.

While speaking with reporters Friday morning, Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb said Sabally will not play in 2022, and the team will aim to have her healthy and ready for the 2023 season.

“We knew heading into the selection for Nyara that there was a very strong chance that she would not play this year because of her current health condition,” Kolb said. “We knew that, and so in selecting her, that will be the case. So we knew taking her, we’re going to have her rights going forward and we’re going to work with Nyara and her representatives and doctors to make sure she’s ready to roll for ’23.”

Kolb’s answer was prompted after he was asked about New York’s decision to draft Georgia Tech forward Lorela Cubaj, a 6-foot-4 forward with a game similar to that of Sabally’s, in the second round of Monday’s draft.

Throughout her Oregon career, Sabally was hindered by leg injuries. She missed her first two college seasons due to injury and missed the first month of the 2021-22 season for the same reason. During her final college season, Sabally was Oregon’s leading scorer and rebounder and garnered all-conference honors.

But injuries still impacted her play, and Oregon coach Kelly Graves said Sabally was rarely able to practice.

In the final game of her college career, Sabally scored 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in an overtime loss to Belmont in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

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