A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces, after winning back-to-back championships, were eliminated from the WNBA playoffs following their 76-62 Game 4 loss to the New York Liberty.
With the elimination, fan-favorite Kate Martin’s rookie season with Las Vegas has come to a close.
The 24-year-old from Edwardsville, Illinois, became a big hit with fans following her college tenure with Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes. She did not have high expectations going into the 2024 WNBA draft but was selected in the second round by the Aces.
In the first half of the regular season, Martin had earned herself a key role coming off the bench for Las Vegas. She would constantly see double-digit minutes of playing time and made the most of her minutes while being surrounded by four Olympic teammates.
However, for unknown reasons, coach Becky Hammon completely changed Martin’s role in the ladder half of the season. Her minutes per game went down drastically, receiving five minutes of action or less in most games, including five contests without any playing time at all.
In the playoffs, Martin didn’t play at all, apart from the three minutes of garbage time in Game 3 against the Liberty. Some fans were not pleased with how Martin’s season ended, with some complaining about her lack of playing time and others saying she should move on from the team.
“Hey Las Vegas Aces If you don’t have sense enough to play Kate Martin, send to the Indiana Fever,” one fan said.
“someone please free kate martin. they literally drafted her as a pawn to get attention bc of her closeness to caitlin. they gave her minutes for as long as they had to to keep people’s attention and then she’s barely played since.”
“Justice for Kate Martin.”
“kate martin leave that org ASAP”
“you see what happens when kate martin doesn’t play”
“when kate martin doesn’t play the lose and look what happened”
In the back half of the season, the Aces’ main bench rotation included Sixth Player of the Year Tiffany Hayes, Sydney Colson and another former Iowa player in Megan Gustafson.
In 34 games played this year, Martin averaged 2.6 points on 35.5% from three, 1.6 rebounds and 0.9 assists, but it was her hustle plays that earned her a role at the beginning. With the Aces only allowed to protect six players from the upcoming Golden State Valkyries expansion draft, Martin could very well make her way out of Las Vegas next season, assuming she isn’t protected or cored.
