You have that Basketball-Climbed Olympus!
The German national players Leonie Fiebich (24) and Nyara Sabally (24) win the WNBA championship with New York Liberty for the first time and are celebrating the greatest success of their young careers so far after the Olympic premiere in Paris.
The duo is following in the footsteps of Marlies Askamp (54), who was the only German to win the title in the US professional league in 2002 with the Los Angeles Sparks.
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Shortly before the final siren of the decisive fifth final game (67:62 nV), Fiebich and Sabally fell into each other’s arms and celebrated their historic triumph.
Fiebich: “When Dirk Nowitzki won the championship, he sang ‘We are Championships’ really badly. We won’t do that.”
In 2011, Dirk Nowitzki (46/nickname Dirkules) became the first German to win the NBA title with the Dallas Mavericks and was named the most valuable player in the final series. 13 years later, Fiebich and Sabally are doing the same in the best women’s basketball league.
From 1998 to 2019, Dirk Nowitzki played in the NBA for the Dallas Mavericks and became NBA champion once
Foto: picture-alliance/ dpa
The drama of the fifth and final final game was hard to beat – with our basketball heroines Fiebich and Sabally in the main roles!
In overtime, Fiebich converted a three-pointer before she stole the ball from Minnesota when it was thrown in in the final seconds, thus securing New York Liberty’s victory and their first championship in the sixth attempt.
Sabally scored New York’s second basket in overtime after winning the ball and blocked another shot from Minnesota when the score was 65:62.
Nyara’s sister Satou Sabally (26), who followed the game on site and plays in the WNBA for the Dallas Wings on “X” (formerly Twitter): “The whole arena is chanting Sabally. So proud of my little sister, she has been through so much and deserves the world.”
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Source: BILD21.10.2024
Sabally: “This championship ring is for my whole family, especially Satou. She’s always been by my side through my ups and downs – and I’ve had a lot of downs.”
Because the national player tore her cruciate ligament twice, she started her professional career in New York a year late. Now she was sitting on the podium at the press conference after the finals had ended, with bottles of champagne on the table.
Fiebich (like Sabally, scored 13 points, seven rebounds): “To be honest, I can’t even realize what has happened in the last few months. We had big goals: with the national team and the Liberty. I’m just proud to have achieved these goals.”
