WNBA Star Kate Martin Announces Off-Court News on Saturday
Golden State Valkyries guard Kate Martin is amid her second WNBA season after being drafted by the Las Vegas Aces in 2024. Playing one season in Las Vegas, Martin was selected by Golden State in the Expansion Draft.
While she has seen more playing time this season than she did as a rookie, Martin has also seen her minutes dwindle recently. This culminated in a healthy DNP on Friday against the Dallas Wings.
Despite not playing a lot recently, Martin remains a popular figure. The former Iowa Hawkeyes guard has a strong social media presence with over 470,000 followers on Instagram.
On Saturday, Martin took to Instagram for an exciting personal announcement. The second-year guard shared that she is teaming up with Rakuten to showcase her pregame outfits.
“Excited to share I’m teaming up with Rakuten throughout the season to share my pregame tunnel looks,” she wrote. “Check out my IG story to shop the look from last night’s game at @saks with @rakuten and score Cash Back 🤝💰”
Martin joins her teammates Tiffany Hayes and Monique Billings who are also teaming up with Rakuten. The brand is a close partner of the Valkyries and Golden State Warriors.
In 2023, Warriors superstar Steph Curry announced a partnership with Rakuten and the Black in Fashion Council.
“When you get to opening night, that five minutes when I get out the car, get off the bus, and walk into the arena, there's cameras everywhere," Curry told Warriors on SI in 2023. "It's a great platform and opportunity for me to share what's important to me, and not just how I look."
Now, Martin and two of her teammates are partnering with Rakuten on a different initiative.
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.