Kate Martin Outranks Favorite For WNBA MVP In Merch Sales

The story of Las Vegas Aces rookie guard Kate Martin continues to seem like it's right out of a movie.

Martin attended the WNBA draft in April for one reason, which was to support her Iowa teammate Caitlin Clark. While Clark being taken with the No. 1 pick wasn't a surprise at all, it was a bit shocking for Martin to hear her name called. Martin ended up getting drafted that night by the back-to-back champions in the second round.

On top of being drafted, she has also managed to carve out a role for herself with the Aces, and has emerged as a fan favorite. Something that has been quantified by data released by Fanatics back in July, and posted on Wednesday by Boardroom.

According to Fanatics' data, Martin ranks No. 5 in the WNBA in sales of player-specific merchandise. A metric that truly shows just how popular she has become in her first year in the league, and one that also highlights how popular the WNBA as a whole has gotten.

The only three players who ranked ahead of Martin in merchandise sales are the two frontrunners for WNBA Rookie of the Year, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, and a contender for MVP, Sabrina Ionescu.

It is also worth noting that when this data was released, Martin ranked ahead of her teammate A'ja Wilson, who FanDuel currently has as the favorite to win the MVP award.

Thanks in large part due to the popularity of the rookies, the WNBA has seen a 500% increase in merchandise sales compared to last season.

As for Martin and how she is doing this year, she is averaging 3.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists on the year.

She and the Aces (17-9) return to action on Wednesday, when they will host the Minnesota Lynx (19-8).