SAN FRANCISCO – The wounds from leaving the Golden State Valkyries, against her own terms, are still raw for Kate Martin. Even as she finds success with her new home in the Los Angeles Sparks, and even as she gets closer and closer to earning a full-time roster spot, the anguish and the heartbreak from being waived by the Valkyries are all still there.
A long and lingering pain that could only stem from one thing: love. Love from all the special connections and love all the special memories she made in Golden State. A love that was cut short.
“It’s still pretty fresh,” Martin said at the Sparks’ shootaround, the morning of her Ballhalla reunion.
“I don’t know if it’s something you ever like fully get over. I don’t know, it’s a big part of my life. And I think as professional athletes you’re just supposed to like move on and like not let things like show emotion or like let things affect you. But I mean, these girls are really important to me, like this organization was really important to me. And so I don’t know if it’s like ever just going to be like a chapter that I fully close.”
To say Martin meant a lot to the Valkyries is an understatement.
Even if her stats in Golden State never quite showed it, Martin was an integral part of the Valkyries’ success in their very first season in the WNBA. If you watched the Golden State bench, Martin was always the first one to celebrate her teammates. If you watched her on the court, Martin was always the one gathering the other four players into a huddle.
She was the glue. She was the chemistry. Coach Natalie Nakase called Martin the “vibes-setter.” It’s why Martin, along with several of the other Valkyries, including star guard Veronica Burton, went out to dinner last night. Because her bonds with them will last for a lifetime.
“It was good to see everybody,” Martin recounted. “I mean, those are gonna be some of my best friends for the rest of my life. Any chance I get to see them, hang out with them, rekindle, is always a good day.”
It’s an energy, a person, that Nakase knows the Valkyries miss dearly.
“We miss her energy,” Nakase said pre-game. “Her comedy, her ruthlessness when she helps us too. And like she would always help us in like pre-games and stuff. So I’m excited to see her. Obviously, I miss her. She’s family.”
Kate Martin has made a new home away from the Valkyries
But even though the Valkyries shaped hole in Martin’s heart may never fully close, Martin has found her way with the Sparks on a development contract. In eight games with Los Angeles, Martin has climbed the rotation past players on the actual active roster, shooting 47.4% from the field as the Sparks’ rotational sharpshooter.
“I am where my feet are,” Martin said of her new situation in Los Angeles. “I’m gonna be where my feet are, and like, I love it in LA, and I love these girls, I love this team and organization.”
For some players, being waived by a team can be used as motivation to level up their game. The power of spite, the desire for revenge, and the chance to prove them wrong are powerful forces in the game of basketball. But Martin dismissed the idea that she’s used the Valkyries, waving her as motivation to fuel her play.
“I’m just doing the best that I can with what I’m, what I’ve been given,” Martin said. “And honestly, I’ve always been very confident in who I am and what I bring to the table. And so, I think the Sparks see that, and I appreciate that.”
So when Martin steps out on the court to a familiar crowd and to a very familiar team, it will be all love.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Martin said of the Ballhalla crowd with a smile. “This whole fan base really embraced me and took me in. Nat [Nakase] and Ohemaa [Nyanin] took a chance on me, picking me up in the expansion, and I’m forever thankful for that. And then the bonds that you create with the girls, like those, aren’t things that just go away. You’re gonna feel that forever.”
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