The Golden State Valkyries got a bunch of interesting players in the expansion draft in December. One player fans seem especially excited about seeing in a Valkyries jersey is Kate Martin. Martin did not play much during her rookie season with the Las Vegas Aces, averaging only 11.5 minutes per game over 34 contests. Nevertheless, she quickly emerged as a fan favorite.
With the Valkyries, Martin is expected to have a much bigger role, as she profiles to be one of the young players the new franchise will want to develop. Martin is currently showing flashes of what she can provide on the court in Unrivaled. She is playing for the still-undefeated Laces Basketball Club alongside Alyssa Thomas, Kayla McBride, Tiffany Hayes, Jackie Young, and Stephanie Dolson.
Despite being the only youngster on the roster, Martin is averaging 10 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.5 steals over four games. Those are great numbers and underline the potential she has as a professional basketball player.
While Martin may not turn out to become a big-time All-Star or MVP candidate, she is exactly the type of player teams want around their biggest stars—someone who can space the floor, plays hard on defense and does all the little things necessary to win—and her future in the WNBA seems bright.
Martin’s former college teammate, Caitlin Clark, knows that perhaps better than anyone else in the W and hopes to reunite with her eventually.
Caitlin Clark hopes to recruit Kate Martin to the Fever
In an interview with David Eickholt, Caitlin Clark talked about Kate Martin’s growth and current performance in Unrivaled. She praised Martin’s game as well as the hard work she knows her former teammate puts in. Valkyries fans will be delighted to hear that and learn what kind of player their team landed in the expansion draft.
They won’t like what Clark said next quite as much.
First, Clark noted that now that Martin is not with the Aces anymore, she might actually have a chance to beat her team in the WNBA.
Next, she said, “Hopefully I can recruit her to the Fever somehow…it’s my goal at some point in my career to team up with Kate again.”
Kate Martin is the kind of player the Valkyries likely want to keep around for quite some time. While she is not going anywhere at the moment, a recruiting pitch from Caitlin Clark may be hard to beat for Golden State in the future. When Martin is more experienced and has made a true name for herself in the league, she will have plenty of options in free agency. If one of those options is to join her close friend and a Fever team that can be expected to be very competitive, Clark might get her wish sooner or later.
For now, Valkyries fans will get to watch Martin flourish and grow in the Bay Area, though.