It has been a rough year for Kate Martin. First, she didn’t make the Golden State Valkyries’ opening-day roster. Then, she played her way from a development contract into a standard contract with the Los Angeles Sparks but was waived once again about a month later. Martin landed another development contract with the Chicago Sky, but only appeared in two games.
Now, Martin also won’t return to Unrivaled in the winter. The league announced that they agreed to a mutual contract termination with Martin. Valkyries’ backup guard Kaitlyn Chen signed a one-year deal with Unrivaled to replace Martin.
Martin is a fan favorite anywhere she goes. But the harsh reality is that she simply doesn’t seem ready for the competition in the WNBA or Unrivaled yet. If Martin wants to extend her playing career and get another shot at a standard WNBA contract, she needs to figure out how to get a contract overseas as quickly as possible.
Kaitlyn Chen has set the perfect example
Kaitlyn Chen and Kate Martin are forever linked now. The Valkyries didn’t really pick Chen over Martin—they simply needed a backup point guard and not another 3-and-D wing—but this is now the second time that Martin is out of a job and Chen is getting an opportunity in her place.
Their very different offseason journeys before the 2026 WNBA season undoubtedly have something to do with that. Chen entered the WNBA as a third-round pick and was a fringe rotational player in her rookie season. After the WNBA season, she joined USK Praha and played in the EuroLeague against the best overseas competition. After that, she also played in Athletes Unlimited and put together some huge scoring games.
Both opportunities helped Chen take a massive leap in her second WNBA season. She went from rarely seeing the court to being the Valkyries’ backup point guard and logging minutes in the WNBA Finals.
Unrivaled is a great offseason opportunity—for already established players and stars looking to make a lot of money without having to play a full EuroLeague season. A fringe WNBA player like Martin would benefit more from grinding through a EuroLeague or WNBL season and getting as many reps as possible instead of spending most of a shorter Unrivaled season on the bench. Martin barely averaged 10 minutes per game for Breeze BC this season.
Players don’t have to go overseas anymore, and that’s great. It’s something they fought hard for because spending months in a foreign country, away from friends and family, takes an emotional toll on top of the physical strain of playing two full seasons back-to-back. But, for some players, it’s still the right move when it comes to development. Martin is one of those players.
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