LAS VEGAS — Of course Caitlin Clark cussed, and Caitlin Martin didn’t expect anything less.
On May 25, WNBA rookies Clark of the Indiana Fever and Martin of the Las Vegas Aces faced off against each other for the first time in their professional careers. Martin was serious about it, but Clark was not.
“She’s not very good at basketball,” Clark told the referee, handing the ball to Martin, who choked back a laugh.
Then it was Clark’s turn to smile. The 2024 WNBA No. 1 pick couldn’t help but smile as she realized it was her turn to defend her best friend and former Iowa teammate. A photo of the moment went viral, becoming the latest memento for a Midwesterner whose love of basketball has led her on a journey no one expected.
Experiencing it together makes it even better.
“It’s very rare in this league for two people to both be successful from the same team. Unless you go to University of Connecticut or University of South Carolina or somewhere like that, there’s a lot of people in the league that are like that,” Martin told USA Today Sports with a laugh. “It’s really cool that one of my best friends is going through the same thing. Every time I say something, she knows exactly what I mean. It’s hard to talk to my other friends about (the WNBA) because they don’t understand what we do at all.”
The two teams meet again on Tuesday when the Aces host the Fever (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
For Martin, it’s still hard to believe at times that this is her reality now.
“I never thought I’d be in this position,” she said. “I always knew Caitlin was going to change the world, but I’m so grateful to be here, too.”
“She knows how to play with superstars.”
Long before her name was called in April, everyone knew Clark would make history as the No. 1 pick — arguably the most anticipated rookie in league history. Martin was in the crowd cheering Clark on. But when her name was called, as the 18th pick in the second round by the two-time champion Aces, everyone was surprised.
Everyone except Clark.
Clark loves to gush about how Martin, his roommate on the road at Iowa, led the school to consecutive Final Fours.
“What she can bring to a team at the pro level is rare, but she’s the type of player that doesn’t care how many points she scores, how many rebounds she gets, how many assists she gets. She just wants to play hard and be the best teammate she can be. That’s the type of player you want in your locker room,” Clark said.
But Clark stressed that Martin’s contribution goes beyond just being a “glue actor.”
“She makes shots, she makes 3-pointers, she’s always ready to go,” Clark said. “From a basketball standpoint, she might get a little overlooked sometimes, but she can do some great things. She can do some things that I can’t! She has a really good mid-post game, she can do some nice fadeaways, she has a high basketball IQ. That’s the type of player (Aces coach) Becky (Hammon) is looking for, and I think she’s a good fit for that system.”
Hammon agrees.
The two-time WNBA champion coach said everyone else was so enamored with Clark, the all-time leading scorer in college basketball, that he ignored Martin and hoped the Aces would draft her.
“Kaitlin Clark is great, I love watching her, but you don’t get a team to the Final Four by yourself,” Hammon said. “You have to have other pieces. To me, Kate was the next most important piece. She knew how to impact the game without having to call every play herself. On this team, I don’t call plays for Kate Martin. She knows how to play with the superstars.”
Martin was warmly welcomed by the superstars, led by two-time MVP A’ja Wilson. The A’s’ pranks on Martin became social media buzz, from making her chase the team bus after pretending to leave her behind at dinner to Wilson dressing Martin in head-to-toe Gamecocks jerseys for South Carolina’s preseason game against Puerto Rico. But so did heartwarming moments, like when Wilson bought Martin a cake and a tiara for her 24th birthday.
The WNBA consensus: No one is enjoying their rookie season more than Martin.
Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin will play different roles.
Clark and Martin have very different roles as pros. Clark, who led all rookies in points (16.2 per game) and assists (6.9), is a star at Indiana who gets double-teamed and media attention. Martin is a quintessential role player who comes off the bench, averaging 3.9 points and 2.2 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per game.
They communicate daily, usually via text message, and spend time together as their busy schedules allow. Their favorite pastimes are exploring new restaurants and trying different desserts. Clark loves warm chocolate chip cookies. Martin loves anything with lemon and blueberries.
Their lives are dominated by basketball, but they avoid talking about it. Martin sympathizes with Clark, who has become so famous she barely leaves her apartment. Clark’s play has been roundly criticized for her first six weeks in the league, an exhausting reality that comes with her position.
When one of them needs encouragement, the other will give them a pep talk.
“There have been times when I’ve felt down, but she’s always been there to encourage me, just like she was in Iowa,” Martin said. “I’ve never been in Kaitlyn’s position, and I never will be. She’s at a totally different stage than I am, but I try to listen and encourage her as much as I can.”
Retired Iowa coach Lisa Vladar, who brought Martin and Clark to Iowa City, was at the arena whenever the former Iowa players played, and watching them on the court together, along with Las Vegas center Megan Gustafson, who graduated from Iowa in 2019, “was very rewarding,” Vladar said.
“That’s the best part of coaching,” Bruder said, “watching these guys achieve their dreams,” “it’s so amazing. They’re doing what they love. And when we had all three of them on the court at the same time, it was just so awesome.”
Bruder knows how liberating it is for Clark to talk to Martin; Martin is someone she can let her guard down with. Clark’s every move, every word is scrutinized, which can be a burden for anyone, especially a 22-year-old player. While Bruder is happy Martin has found her home in the WNBA, she’s equally happy it means “Kaitlyn now has someone to talk to who understands her, and I think that’s something she really needs.”
Watching each other’s success from afar
Clark and Martin may try not to make basketball the focus of their conversations, but they do follow each other’s stats closely. Martin signs up for WNBA League Pass to watch all of Clark’s games, and Clark frequently checks box scores before and after games to see how Martin is doing. The two analyze each other’s contributions and share tips. Martin says she especially appreciates any advice from Clark, who has a reputation for having a high basketball IQ. The two also discuss outfit strategies, a nod to a recent WNBA trend of taking photos of players’ outfits before games.
“We’re always sending each other pictures, like, ‘Wait a second, do you like this outfit?'” Martin said with a laugh. “That’s kind of the funny thing about the WNBA, we were both nervous at the beginning of the season, like, ‘What do I wear? I always wear sweatpants!'”
The Aces and Fever have two more games scheduled to be played in Indianapolis on Sept. 11 and Sept. 13. Clark and Martin can’t wait.
And, of course, there will be a lot of name-calling in these matchups. They love it.
Email Lindsay Schnell at lschnell@usatoday.com and follow her on social media. Lindsay Schnell