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Kate Martin, on the WNBA ESPN show after the expansion draft on Friday, expressed her interest in joining the Golden State Valkyrie. The expansion team selected the 24-year-old guard from the Aces, and Martin gave her thoughts on playing under coach Natalie Nakase for the 2025 season.
In a clip posted by WNBA Central on X (formerly Twitter), Martin spoke about joining the new franchise and her ambitions with them. The two-time WNBA champion also opened up about how it feels joining a new team.
"I am really excited, you know this league is all about opportunity and you just need one shot, right,?" she said. "I am very grateful for the Aces and everything I got to learn there, but I am really excited for this new beginning to build something from the ground up here with the Valkyries."
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Kate Martin also elaborated on her feelings on playing under coach Nakase after the duo had worked together in Las Vegas during Natalie's tenure as an assistant coach:
"Coach Nakase is somebody you're gonna want to run through a brick wall for," Martin added.
"She's a truth-teller, she's gonna be honest with you but she matches that with love and support. A 100%, so those are the kind of coaches that, you just wanna give your all for."
The first WNBA expansion draft since 2008 concluded on Friday with the new Golden State team building its first roster. Valkyries chose an unprotected player from every team in the league except the Seattle Storm, from whom they didn't draft a player.
Golden State will open the regular season against the Los Angeles Sparks on May 16. It will begin a new era for the WNBA, as 13 teams will participate for the first time.
Coach Natalie Nakase expresses her "non-negotiables" for team and coaching Kate Martin at Golden State
Natalie Nakase opened up about her coaching philosophy for her new team as the first coach of the Golden State Valkyries. Speaking to Chiney Ogwumike on ESPN she laid down her "non-negotiables" for her players.
Expressing that the team would "shoot some threes" Nakase shared her doctrines for her team:
"So, I have three non-negotiables," she said. "Number one they have to be ultra-competitive, they have to really love winning, and they have to hate to lose.
"Number two they have to be high character, so that means they have to sacrifice for the greater good of the team always. And then the last one is they have to have a never-satisfied mindset."
Brazilian American journalist Roberta Rodrigues shared Nakase's thoughts on coaching Kate Martin as she quoted the new Valkyries coach in a post on X:
"I'm excited ... I grew a very close relationship when I was there with the Aces. She's a very genuine person ... also a culture changer. She really pours herself into her work and in her passion the way she plays," Nakase said about Martin, according to Roberta.
The Valkyries have chosen a great mix of experience and youth for coach Nakase. They also boast five WNBA winners - Temi Fagbenle, Cecillia Zandalasini, Iliana Rupert, Kayla Thornton and Kate Martin.
