Esmery Martinez was 14 years old when she first picked up a basketball in her home country of the Dominican Republic. She remembers competing with the boys in her neighborhood.
“We played in this little tournament in my city, and I remember that I was so aggressive,” Martinez, 24, told Remezcla during a recent interview. “That’s when I fell in love with basketball. I was like, ‘Oh, I’m good!’ So, I just kept going!”
Martinez’s love for basketball as a teenager soon led her to a successful five years of playing college basketball at West Virginia and Arizona. Earlier this year, she was drafted by the New York Liberty in the second round of the 2024 WNBA Draft. She was the first Dominican player ever drafted in the WNBA.
“It was a great opportunity to learn in the WNBA and enjoy the team,” Martinez said.
In early May, Martinez made her professional debut with the Liberty in a preseason game against the Chicago Sky and recorded four points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals. That same week, she recorded five points, three rebounds and one steal against the Connecticut Sun. Before the regular season began, however, Martinez was waived by the Liberty.
Now, Martinez, who also plays for the Dominican Republic women’s national basketball team, is taking her game overseas. She has joined the Flammes Carolo Basket in France’s top-level Ligue Féminine de Basketball (LFB).
“I feel blessed to be able to continue playing basketball,” she said. “I want to continue to show what I got.”
Unlike the NBA, the WNBA does not have an official minor league organization like the NBA’s G League where players can develop their skills and stay in the hunt for an open roster spot as the season continues. Once a WNBA player is cut or waived and another team doesn’t pick them up, the only real option they have to play professional basketball is to join a league in another country.
“I would be grateful if we had that kind of opportunity,” she said. “But right now, the WNBA doesn’t have a lot of teams, so it’s different [than the NBA]. It would be great if we could keep playing here in the states.”
Martinez’s time in the WNBA may have been short-lived, but she has her entire career ahead of her. She still believes there is a chance she could reach the world’s top women’s basketball league again in the future.
“I’ll probably come back next year for [WNBA] training camp,” she said. “I’m still working and still pushing myself. I still want to play in the WNBA.”
Until then, Martinez is looking forward to playing for her new team in France and building on her skills on the basketball court.
“This is a new chapter for me,” Esmery Martinez said. “So, now I have to focus and adjust to this new league and show my versatility and greatness. It’s very important for me to open a lot of doors for young girls in my country.”
