Valkyries Make Unexpected Kate Martin Decision Against Wings
The Golden State Valkyries entered Friday night’s contest against the Dallas Wings riding a three-game losing streak that had momentarily taken them out of a WNBA postseason spot. As they look to become the first expansion team in league history to make the playoffs, the Valkyries will have to do so without their All-Star forward Kayla Thornton for the remainder of the season.
It was announced on Friday that Thornton underwent season-ending knee surgery after appearing in her first WNBA All-Star Game last weekend. The injury was suffered in practice.
This left Golden State with a hole in its rotation, but Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase did not turn to Kate Martin.
Selected by Golden State in the Expansion Draft from the Las Vegas Aces, Martin has seen more playing time this season than she did her rookie year, but that has been trending in the wrong direction recently. After playing a season-low five minutes against the Phoenix Mercury two games ago, Martin then received 15 minutes against the Seattle Storm, but shot just 1-for-7 from the field.
On Friday against Dallas, Martin was a DNP-CD. Many fans were curious if she was dealing with an injury, which could have explained her absence from the rotation, but Marcus Thompson III of The Athletic confirmed she was healthy and available.
It's halftime between the Valkyries and Wings. Golden State trails 36-30. The hosts are shooting just 30.3 percent from the field.
— Marcus Thompson II (@ThompsonScribe) July 26, 2025
And Kate Martin — who is healthy — hasn't played a second.
Surprising, especially with Kayla Thornton now out for the year
This decision was very controversial among fans on social media, with many believing Thornton’s injury should have paved the way for more Martin minutes. Instead, the former Iowa Hawkeyes guard did not play at all. Thompson noted the surprising nature of this development in his post.
While the move to bench Martin was unexpected, Golden State was able to secure the victory over Dallas and get back in the win column.
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.