Kate Martin lands with Sparks in development roster spot
LOS ANGELES — Fresh off a airplane trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon, Kate Martin arrived at Crypto.com Arena in downtown LA — her new house. Just earlier than 8 am, the Sparks had introduced that they had signed Martin to a development roster spot.
The transfer got here 4 days after she was waived by the Golden State Valkyriesthe place she performed final season.
“It was brutal,” Martin mentioned, chatting with reporters forward of the Sparks’ season opener in opposition to the Las Vegas Aces. She took a second earlier than persevering with to talk, combating again tears.
After a number of deep breaths, she continued: “It was a business decision. That’s what professional sports is. It’s a business. … It wasn’t an easy process, and now I feel like I can relate to a lot more people on a level I never wanted to be able to relate on. But it’s going to help me as a leader and a person going forward.”
In his second season in the league, Martin averaged 6.2 factors and a couple of.7 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per sport for the Valkyries, who took her from the Aces in the growth draft forward of the 2025 season. Las Vegas had chosen her with the 18th choose in the 2024 WNBA draft out of Iowa.
Golden State coach Natalie Nakase informed reporters that chopping Martin was “very emotional, a lot of heartache. Kate was our family member and someone we cared about deeply. And we still do care deeply about Kate.”
The coach additionally mentioned, “It’s hard because we are trying to build the best team possible.”
Martin mentioned she was informed of the Valkyries’ resolution Wednesday.
“I loved it in [Golden State]”Martin mentioned. “I loved my time there. I loved my teammates. That’s the hardest part, leaving my teammates. But I know I’m going to be surrounded by amazing people here.”
“I would say my basketball career hasn’t always been the easiest route,” she added. “You can go one of two ways from this: You can go down a negative path, or you can take it as a positive and learn from it and grow from it. That’s what I’m choosing to do.”
Martin mentioned she selected to come back to Los Angeles due to the best way the Sparks approached her.
“They wanted me here, and I had really good talks with Coach [Lynne] Roberts,” Martin mentioned. “I felt confident in my decision because of the way they approached me and thought I would fit well into this system.”
In their second season beneath Roberts, the Sparks added Nneka Ogwumike, Erica Wheeler and Ariel Atkins throughout free company, taking their workforce from a constructing undertaking to win-now mode.
Kelsey Plum is also in her second 12 months in Los Angeles, and Martin mentioned she reached out to Plum earlier than arriving in LA The two performed collectively throughout Martin’s rookie season in Las Vegas.
“Even though I literally just got here, it’s really nice [having pre-existing relationships]”,” Martin said. “It’s not like I’m a rookie coming to a brand-new workforce. I do really feel some consolation in understanding some folks.”
In a developmental roster spot — akin to the NBA’s two-way player — Martin is eligible to suit up for up to 12 games throughout the season. She’ll be paid $6,136 per game and receive a $750-a-week stipend when she’s inactive.
Development spots are an addition to the new collective bargaining agreement that was negotiated during the offseason.
“I simply really feel honored for the chance, and alternatives like this do not all the time come round in this league. For the 12 months I bought minimize to be the 12 months the place there are development spots, I really feel very grateful for that,” Martin mentioned.