Aya Abdeen

Ballislife Exclusive: Shamekka Marty on Satou Sabally's Injury and WNBA Health Insurance Shamekka Marty talks Satou Sabally's concussion injury, WNBA health insurance, + CBA in an exclusive interview with Ballislife.

ICYMI- I did an exclusive interview with Shamekka Marty, a leading health advocate, on the extent of Satou Sabally's injury for @ballislife.bsky.social just last week!

Sabally missed Game 4 of the #WNBAFinals due to a concussion for the Mercury.

Give it a read! 👇
ballislife.com/news/wnba/ba...

“I’m looking forward in coming back into the W and to an organization that prioritizes innovation and the growth of women’s sports,” Ashley Battle told @ballislife.bsky.social

Ashley Battle joins the Portland Fire as VP of Basketball Operations. #WNBA Read my latest 👇 ballislife.com/news/wnba/as...

Ashley Battle Joins Portland Fire's Front Office as VP of Basketball Operations Battle, a former WNBA player, most recently worked as a TV commentator for the Connecticut Sun and as a scout for the Boston Celtics.

Some news: Former WNBA player and current Celtics G League GM and Connecticut Sun TV analyst Ashley Battle is joining the Portland Fire as VP of Basketball Operations, Strategy and Innovation, working under GM Vanja Černivec.

Story: www.rosegardenreport.com/ashley-battl...

The Portland Fire have announced the hiring of their new head coach: Alex Sarama.

Sarama worked remotely for the London Lions' front office in 2023-24 (led by Fire GM Vanja Černivec). At the same time, he was an assistant with Portland's G-league team, the Rip City Remix.

Ballislife Exclusive: Shamekka Marty on Satou Sabally's Injury and WNBA Health Insurance Shamekka Marty talks Satou Sabally's concussion injury, WNBA health insurance, + CBA in an exclusive interview with Ballislife.

I had the opportunity to interview Shamekka Marty, Co-Founder and CEO of the sports health nonprofit Beyond the Game Health, about the extent of Satou Sabally's injury.

My latest for @ballislife.bsky.social
Give it a read #WNBAFinals
ballislife.com/news/wnba/ba...

Ballislife Exclusive: A’ja Wilson Talks A’One Signature Shoe and A’Two Coming in 2026 Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson talks with Ballislife about the success of her A'One Signature Shoe, 2026 debut & expectations of A'Two.

Doing the story on A'ja Wilson's signature shoe back in August is one of my favorite memories from this #WNBA season. Read it here for @ballislife.bsky.social ⬇️
ballislife.com/news/wnba/aj...

A THREAD:
“I have an amazing fan base that loves to pour strength and courage into me, and I hope that they can do that and see that in the shoe. And I’m glad they love it as much as I do.” -A'ja Wilson told me in an exclusive interview.

What Phoenix Mercury GM Nick U'Ren and head coach Nate Tibbetts spoke about this season, they're building something special.

Even though the new CBA negotiations is uncertain, they're optimistic to continue to build onto their momentum. #WNBA

Just arrived at Mountain America Performance Center for today's exit interviews after the conclusion of the 2025 Phoenix Mercury season.

Follow along for updates. #WNBA

I'm so excited to see what more I have in store for you all for many years to come! 🥂

I'm forever grateful for getting the opportunity to cover my first #WNBA Playoffs in my hometown this year!

I enjoyed getting the opportunity to talk all things Phoenix Mercury on @the9450.bsky.social and write stories across the league for @ballislife.bsky.social and @theixbasketball.bsky.social!

What a read right here 👇 #WNBA #WNBAFinals

A'ja Wilson's 2025:

◽️WNBA scoring title
◽️Regular-season MVP
◽️Defensive Player of the Year
◽️WNBA championship
◽️Finals MVP

Best season ever?

"While most of the roster consists of free agents, Phoenix should feel good about retaining its top players." #WNBA

Lord have mercy

One of my wildest moments in my young sports journalism career. A'ja Wilson sat behind me and was interacting with media members 😂 #WNBAFinals 

Mind you, I'm 22 years old and just graduated from college this spring😅😅

Mark Davis did impromptu pressers tonight. One on the podium and another with a group of reporters. I asked him the status of the latest investigation that league opened on the Aces for salary cap circumvention.

"I don’t know. If you could find out, would you please tell me."

Ballislife Exclusive: Shamekka Marty on Satou Sabally's Injury and WNBA Health Insurance Shamekka Marty talks Satou Sabally's concussion injury, WNBA health insurance, + CBA in an exclusive interview with Ballislife.

I had the opportunity to interview Shamekka Marty, Co-Founder and CEO of the sports health nonprofit Beyond the Game Health, about the extent of Satou Sabally's injury.

My latest for @ballislife.bsky.social
Give it a read #WNBAFinals
ballislife.com/news/wnba/ba...

Standoff Over WNBA's Future Has Dominated Finals A dominant performance by A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces has been reduced to background noise as players and owners negotiate a new CBA.

According to multiple sources, the WNBA's latest CBA proposal includes a supermax closer to $850,000 & a vet min hovering around $300,000 in year 1

The two sides remain at odds w. Engelbert's frayed relationships extending to team presidents and owners.

frontofficesports.com/standoff-ove...

A'ja Wilson's Game-Winner Puts Las Vegas Aces One Win Away From WNBA Championship The Las Vegas Aces are one win away from their third WNBA Championship in four years after A'ja Wilson makes a game-winning bucket in Game 3.

My latest for @ballislife.bsky.social takes you through a thrilling end in Game 3 of the #WNBAFinals. A'ja Wilson's game-winning bucket puts the Las Vegas Aces one win away from another title.

Read it here 👇
ballislife.com/news/wnba/aj...

Phoenix Mercury: Can They Come Back From 0-2 Deficit? As the Phoenix Mercury are facing a 0-2 deficit to the Las Vegas Aces in the best-of-seven WNBA Finals, they have confidence at home. .

“We love an underdog story. We love [it] when people count us out. ... Still a lot of confidence here. We just know we have a lot of room to improve.” -Alyssa Thomas on the Phoenix Mercury, who are down 0-2 in the #WNBAFinals.

My latest for @ballislife.bsky.social 👇 ballislife.com/news/wnba/ph...

Codename Mercury: Game 2 Breakdown & Predictions for WNBA Finals Podcast Episode · The9450 · 10/08/2025 · 16m

My latest episode on @the9450.bsky.social alongside @kdotlew3h.bsky.social on what went wrong for the Phoenix Mercury in Game 2 of the #WNBAFinals and their expectations for the next two games on their homecourt.

Give it a listen! 👇
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Phoenix Mercury falter in Game 2, lose control of Finals to Aces - The IX Basketball The Las Vegas Aces have put themselves in prime position to win WNBA championship after besting Phoenix Mercury 91-78 in Game 2 of Finals.

After coming close to beating the Las Vegas Aces in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, the Phoenix Mercury lost Game 2 by a much bigger margin.

@dylankanesports.bsky.social outlines what went wrong for Phoenix and how the Mercury are feeling about Game 3 at home.

www.thenexthoops.com/features/pho...

Hey, another WNBA Finals game with no postgame. A reminder, the mNBA Finals on ABC always gets a postgame. Always. #WNBA #PHXvsLV

"One sequence late in the first quarter summed up just how frustrated Phoenix was by the Aces’ defense. Kahleah Copper missed a layup, got her own rebound, and then missed again. Alyssa Thomas got the rebound and tried to shoot the ball, but was blocked by Chelsea Gray." #WNBAFinals

WNBA Finals: Mercury 'kind of lost' their fight in Game 2 vs. Aces amid defensive breakdowns, inconsistent offense "I think in this game in general, it was about having some fight, and we kind of lost that," Mercury star Kahleah Copper said.

My story from Vegas on game 2: sports.yahoo.com/wnba/article...

Nate Tibbetts on re-setting for Game 3:

“We’ve been down before. We’ve been overlooked …we’ve kind of always bounced back. Were exited to go home … Vegas did what they were supposed to do.”

(Q: @maggiehendricks.bsky.social)

Nate Tibbetts on the momentum shift in the 2nd quarter:

“We kind of over dribbled … We just kind of stood and watched, and you can’t do that against a team like this.”

(Q: Kendra Andrews)

I asked Nate Tibbetts about the decision to go to deeper into his bench late in the 4th:

“Just being smart going forward.”

Tibbetts says Satou Sabally had an ankle injury and didn’t want to risk it more. Also said the lead was huge.

Kahleah Copper on Game 2:

“It was about having some fight …. We kind of lost that. On to the next. Seven game series.”