Caitlin Clark may be one of the WNBA's fiercest competitors,
but off the court, she's a solid friend to her
former college teammate Kate Martin.
Here's why Clarke's simple two word message to her bestie
has warmed our hearts.
AS2 WNBA players competing on separate teams,
Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin are naturally rivals.
Off the court, however, their friendship remains solid.
In an Instagram post shared by Martin featuring a pic
of her and Clark wearing different jerseys,
she wrote in the caption.
I love my job. Former teammates,
Simple yet sweet response was love you.
The two basketball stars formed a bond playing for the
Iowa Hawkeyes and have remained best friends since.
Now the two are in the big leagues,
with Clark drafted as the first pick by the Indiana
Fever and Martin chose an 18th by the Las Vegas
Aces.
Martin was, in fact, at the draft to root for
her former teammate when she learned that she had also
made it into the WNBA.
I'm really happy to be here.
I was here to support Caitlin,
but you know, I was hoping to hear my name
called and all I wanted was an opportunity and I
got it.
Despite the recent controversy over the WNBA's disappointing salary,
getting drafted was definitely a highlight of both Clark and
Martins career.
But if there was one thing they could change,
it would be a chance to play on the same
team.
During an interview shared on TikTok,
Clark told reporters. In my eyes,
she's one of the best leaders I've ever been around
in my entire life.
And I think that everybody that's been her teammate or
has coached her would say the exact same thing.
I wish she was still my teammate.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Clark had the option to stay another year at the
University of Iowa.
But when Martin left, it cemented Clark's decision to move
on,
according to the New York Post,
Clark stated. I'll miss playing with her.
She's just somebody that's really been there for me.
She's somebody that's wired the same way as me.
At times that means me and Kate butt heads,
but at the end of the day,
we know how much we love each other.
Since getting drafted, Clark and Martina faced each other on
the court,
and while things have gotten a bit competitive,
there's nothing but love between the two.
Clark and Martin reunited on May 25th for the first
time since entering the WNBA when the Fever squared off
against the Aces.
The Aces went on to take the win in their
homecourt.
On the court, Clarks playful competitive nature came out and
as Martin revealed to the Edwardsville Intelligencer,
her friend tried to distract her with some banter.
She told the outlet. We do talk a little bit
of trash back and forth.
Last time we played each other,
we gave each other a little shove and talked trash
back and forth to each other.
It's all in good fun.
I'm playing against Clark, Martin admitted to the Daily Iowan.
It was weird, I'm not going to lie.
Looking out on the court and seeing her in a
different jersey than me,
it was obviously different. It's really fun.
We're both living out our dream right now and we
both get to compete at the highest level,
so we're both really grateful for that opportunity.
Meanwhile, Clark also had positive things to say about her
friend,
she told the Daily Iowan.
I'm just really happy for her and everything Co chairman
says about her is so true.
She's the ultimate teammate, ultimate person,
ultimate leader.