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The Valkyries’ home fans, 15 sellouts into the team’s inaugural season, have cemented Chase Center’s reputation as one of the loudest arenas in the WNBA. The volume is at a high from tipoff to the final buzzer of any game, but when fan favorite Kate Martin sinks a corner three, the roar hits a new level.
The second-year guard may log 25 minutes one night, then just seven the next — or maybe check in for only the final 90 seconds of a runaway game. It doesn’t matter; Martin doesn’t measure her value in minutes or stat lines.
She will never complain. Her energy won’t dip. And she’ll certainly never be caught unprepared when the moment does come. Martin shows up at every game with the same mindset: Stay engaged, stay ready, and do whatever the team needs.
After logging only a handful of minutes between last week’s home games against the Aces and the Sparks, Martin infiltrated coach Natalie Nakase’s rotation a bit more Monday night, for 16 minutes of action. The fans were already buzzing after the unveiling of the franchise’s new mascot, Violet the raven, and a thrilling third-quarter flurry of five three-pointers. But they erupted just as loudly when Martin buried a triple in the fourth quarter of a 74-57 blowout win over the Connecticut Sun.
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“For me personally, it’s just controlling what I can control. It definitely depends if we have players out or not, depending on how many minutes, but I never try to focus on how many minutes I’m going to get,” Martin said. “When I shift my focus more toward the defensive end, getting rebounds, and letting the game flow to me, that’s how I stay ready and make an impact on the court when I do get in.”
That philosophy — and blend of toughness, maturity, and selflessness — has come to define Martin’s young career as she continues to carve out her role on the Valkyries. And while her presence on the court grows more confident with each game, Martin admits she is still adjusting to life as a professional.
“Some people don’t realize that my game is still developing,” she said. “I’m still figuring out who I am as a basketball player in the WNBA. I’m only halfway through my second year … so just getting more comfortable out there.”
Like most young players, she’s had moments of doubt. But over time, Martin has discovered her own way of managing those mental hurdles — not by turning inward, but by turning toward others.
“I have a thing that if I am in my own head, I will try to get into somebody else’s,” Martin said. And no, not in a trash-talk sort of way.
“If I’m in my own head feeling doubt, I just try to cheer extra loud for somebody else and put my focus on someone else. … If I can make my teammates feel special, make them feel the most confident and know that I believe in them, that makes me feel good, too. It makes me feel ready.”
Martin is not without her own special moments this season. One of the most memorable came when she poured in 14 fourth-quarter points in her career-high 21-point performance in Golden State’s three-point loss when hosting the reigning champion New York Liberty. The former Iowa standout has already recorded eight games with a double-digit scoring total, up from just two during her rookie year with the Aces. But even if her stat lines on the court aren’t always consistent, her energy from the bench is. Martin is constantly one of the most animated and energetic Valkyries on the sideline.
Her team-first mentality is exactly the kind of trait Nakase prioritized when building Golden State’s roster from scratch. She wanted “high-character, selfless” players to be the foundation of the upstarting organization — and Martin fits that mold perfectly.
Her instinct to uplift and connect with her teammates didn’t just appear when she joined the star-studded Aces, who were in need of a role player for her rookie season. It’s something that was shaped by the people closest to her early on.
“My sister instilled in me when I was younger that people are never going to remember stats, people are never going to remember how many points you scored or rebounds you had, but they are going to remember how you made them feel,” Martin said.
That lesson became more than just advice during Martin’s first year at Iowa. It was a lifeline when she was sidelined the entire season with a torn ACL.
“When you get injured and can’t play basketball, that was like the love of my life getting taken away from me. I just sat on the sidelines and did a lot of observing,” Martin said. “I had great leaders ahead of me at Iowa that showed me how to put the team first and really put your own accolades and pride aside to cheer for others.”
A season spent off the court didn’t stall Martin’s development — it just redirected it. From the bench, Martin began to understand leadership in a new way: not as the player who scores the most or directs the offense, but the one that encourages everyone else.
It’s a role she embraced with quiet intensity, playing alongside Caitlin Clark. While Clark drew national headlines, Martin was steady and supportive, known as “the glue.”
When the 2024 WNBA Draft came around, Martin was hopeful but didn’t expect to hear her name called. But now, in a league in which rosters shift and chemistry is hard-earned, Martin’s mindset has become one of her greatest strengths. With a Valkyries team that has seen more lineup changes than any other in the WNBA this season, she’s found new ways to connect and lead.
“Whenever you’re doing that — when you truly want to see your teammates succeed even more than yourself — it builds team chemistry and a great bond.”
Golden State’s longest-tenured WNBA player, nine-season veteran Tiffany Hayes, played alongside Martin in Las Vegas last season before reuniting in San Francisco.
“Kate’s a great teammate, she’s always so loud in the locker room. … On the court, she’s always soaking up stuff and learning from other people, no matter who it is, and you can see that from last year to this year,” Hayes said.
She’s seen Martin’s growth firsthand — and says the quiet work and preparation is what sets her apart.
“Every time she gets in [the game], she’s attacking, she’s doing her thing, because she works on that when the cameras are off — her shot, knowing where to be on defense, asking questions, all the little things. She’s still in that zone of soaking everything up, so when she goes out she’s very confident and it shows.”
Despite not dominating the box score regularly, if the way the crowd booms when she checks into a game is any indication, Martin has emerged as a fan favorite inside Chase Center and around the WNBA — proving there’s more than one way to become a star.
“I feel very grateful — it’s a little odd to have people want my autograph and want to talk to you — things like that don't feel natural for me,” Martin said. “The Bay Area is a super special place, and you can see how they embrace all of their sports, especially women’s basketball here, so it’s fun to play in front of a sold out crowd like this every night.”
While Martin is humble and grounded about having a spotlight on her, she fully embraces the impact her presence and success could have on the next generation.
“It’s huge, it’s part of my ‘why I do this.’ I was once that little girl looking up to women’s basketball players. I don’t take being a role model lightly. I just want to play hard on the court, play with joy, and take time for fans whenever I can, because that can change people’s lives, like it changed mine.”