The crowd erupted in cheers as she was called. Her name was the loudest anyone cheered for in that crowd. Martin has been a fan favorite since the WNBA draft last April, donning the nickname “Money” Martin. Her bright and modest attitude and on-court skill made her a likable guard who garnered the support of many who follow the game.
Golden State held their expansion draft on Dec. 6, marking the league’s first expansion draft in 16 years. Within the draft, each team is allowed to protect six players. Going into this draft, former Aces assistant coach and Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase and her front office curated their list of picks.
”We’re trying to build a very, very competitive culture, we’re gonna play fast paced, and we’re gonna shoot some threes,” said Nakase to Chiney Ogwumike on the draft’s pre-show. With those goals in mind, Nakase and her team chose each player carefully.
When it came down to the Aces, they took second-year guard Kate Martin, a former Iowa Hawkeye and teammate of Caitlin Clark. In her rookie season with the Aces, Martin played in 35 games, with one game against the New York Liberty in the playoff semi-finals. She had a total 11.5 minutes and had 2.6 points per game, shooting for 30.7% from field goal range and 35.5% for three.
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Martin will be joining her former assistant coach this season, playing a key role in the Valkyries’ inaugural season.
“I just call her coach Nat, so I’m gonna refer to her as coach Nat, if that’s alright,” said Martin, “but coach Nat and I kind of bonded over that in Vegas, of just, you know, having to be ready to work, nothing’s given to you, you earn everything kind of mindset. And so, she’s just the type of coach that I want to play for, and type of coach, like I said earlier, makes you want to run through a brick wall for them.”
Martin joins experienced players on the Valkyries, including the New York Liberty’s Kayla Thornton, who averaged 5.5 points per game in 40 games.
“I’m definitely more excited about being teammates with her now than being opponents,” said Martin, “she’s a force. She’s a force to be reckoned with. So yeah, I mean, she can play really good defense, also a killer shooter, shooter from the corners, especially. She can also get downhill in a hurry. She’s obviously a really good player, and definitely looking forward to being on the same side as her.”
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Aces players, including Sydney Colson, A’ja Wilson, and Alysha Clark expressed their love and sadness for Martin after the draft news broke.
”Crying in my martini,” said Colson via X (formerly known as Twitter).
“Y’all wanted this expansion sooooooo bad NOW LOOK…..” said Wilson via Threads. “MY BABY ROOK GONE……”
“Kate gets to SF and starts calling Nat ‘Coach Nakase’,” said Clark via X. “Acting differently already @SydJColson.”
The Valkyries still have cap space available and will look to sign as many free agents as they can. They face off against the Los Angeles Sparks on May 16, and will face the Las Vegas Aces on Jun. 7. Until then, let the free agent frenzy begin.
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