Valkyries Make Kate Martin Decision for Aces Game
Golden State Valkyries guard Kate Martin is facing her former team on Saturday. Selected No. 18 overall by the Las Vegas Aces in the 2024 WNBA Draft, Martin spent one year there before being chosen by Golden State in the Expansion Draft.
Martin has faced the Aces once before, playing 26 minutes in a blowout victory on June 7. The second-year guard tallied 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench in that game.
In Wednesday’s win over Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever, Martin received just her second start of the season. She struggled a bit, scoring five points on 2-for-7 shooting in 19 minutes of action.
On the season, Martin is averaging 7.2 points and 2.6 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game. Entering Saturday, she had appeared in 18 of Golden State’s 19 games.
Despite getting the starting nod against Indiana, Martin was moved back to the bench for Saturday’s game. This decision from head coach Natale Nakase was announced by the team before tip-off. Janelle Salaün replaced Martin in the first five.
First five in the desert. @OLLYwellness | Starting Five pic.twitter.com/Yi0rdnpncd
— Golden State Valkyries (@valkyries) July 12, 2025
Prior to Wednesday, Martin had just one other start this season. It came on opening night against the Los Angeles Sparks, when she scored just two points in 21 minutes without recording a made field goal.
It has been an up-and-down sophomore campaign for Martin, but she is averaging 10.7 points over her last six games and converting on 38.9% of her 3-point attempts in this span. Golden State will look for her to maintain that form coming off the bench against Las Vegas.
Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA and WNBA for On SI. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined On SI to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts and in the classroom earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time, primarily serving as a Clippers beat writer.