Kenyon Martin Jr.

American basketball player (born 2001)

Kenyon Martin Jr.
Martin with the Houston Rockets in 2023
No. 1 – Philadelphia 76ers
PositionSmall forward / power forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (2001-01-06) January 6, 2001 (age 23)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school
  • Chaminade College Prep
    (Los Angeles, California)
  • Sierra Canyon
    (Chatsworth, California)
  • IMG Academy
    (Bradenton, Florida)
NBA draft2020: 2nd round, 52nd overall pick
Selected by the Sacramento Kings
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020–2023Houston Rockets
2021→Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2023Los Angeles Clippers
2023–presentPhiladelphia 76ers
Career highlights and awards
  • NBA G League All-Rookie Team (2021)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Kenyon Lee "KJ" Martin Jr. (born January 6, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The son of former NBA player Kenyon Martin, he grew up in southern California and played basketball while attending Chaminade College Prep and Sierra Canyon before going to IMG Academy for his postgraduate year. He was drafted by the Sacramento Kings in the 2020 NBA draft and in November 2020, the Kings traded Martin to the Houston Rockets, where he played for three season. During the 2023 off-season, he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.

High school career

Kenyon Martin Jr attended Oaks Christian High School as a freshman but did not play basketball that year. Early in the school year, Kenyon Martin Jr was pulled out of Oaks Christian to be homeschooled. After his freshman year, he was enrolled in Chaminade College Preparatory where he started playing basketball as a sophomore.[1][2]

A three-star recruit from Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth, California, Martin played alongside Scotty Pippen Jr. and Cassius Stanley. Martin averaged 16.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per game for the back-to-back California Open Division champions.[3]

Martin originally committed to play collegiately for Vanderbilt before opting for a postgraduate year at IMG Academy.[4] He averaged 20 points and eight rebounds per game at IMG Academy, drawing praise for his athleticism.[5] Martin scored 37 points at the National Prep Showcase and demonstrated an improved jump shot.[6] Martin declared for the 2020 NBA draft on March 24, 2020.[4][7][8]

Professional career

Houston Rockets (2020–2023)

2020-21

On November 18, 2020, Martin was drafted by the Sacramento Kings with the 52nd overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft. On November 25, 2020, he was traded to the Houston Rockets in exchange for cash considerations and a future second-round pick.[9] Martin signed a four-year contract with the Rockets on November 30.[10] The Rockets organization put him on their G League affiliate team, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.[11]

Martin was activated by the Houston Rockets for the January 4, 2021, game against the Dallas Mavericks, then was inactive for one game before making his on-court NBA debut on January 8, 2021, vs. the Orlando Magic, scoring 7 points on 3-3 shooting (including a three-pointer)[12]

On May 8, 2021, Martin scored a season career-high 27 points against the Utah Jazz.[13] He had a then-career high 10 rebounds in three different games, all in May 2021.[12]

2021-22

Martin played in 79 of 82 games during the season, starting two. He scored a season-high 20 points on March 2, 2022 against the Utah Jazz and twice snared 11 rebounds in a game.[14]

2022-23

Before the season, Martin made a trade request to the Rockets with the desire of playing more minutes. He instead became a full-time starter when Eric Gordon was traded in February 2023.[15] Martin played in all 82 of the Rockets' games, starting 49 of them in his third season in the NBA.[16] He also achieved career highs in points per game (12.7), field goal percentage (.572), rebounds per game (5.5), and minutes per game (28.0).[17]

On November 25, 2022, he scored 21 points along with a career-high 15 rebounds in a 128–122 win against the Atlanta Hawks.[18]

On March 22, 2023, Martin scored a career-high 31 points, shooting 12-18 from the field against the Memphis Grizzlies.[19]

On February 18, 2023, he was one of four participants in the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest on all-star weekend.[20]

Los Angeles Clippers (2023)

On July 8, 2023, the Rockets traded Martin to the Los Angeles Clippers for two future second-round picks.[21]

Philadelphia 76ers (2023–present)

On November 1, 2023, the Philadelphia 76ers acquired Martin, Marcus Morris Sr., Nicolas Batum and Robert Covington from the Clippers in exchange for James Harden, P. J. Tucker, and Filip Petrušev. As part of the trade, the Clippers dealt a first-round pick, two second-round picks, a pick swap, and cash considerations to the 76ers, while sending a pick swap and cash considerations to the Oklahoma City Thunder.[22]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 Houston 45 8 23.7 .509 .365 .714 5.4 1.1 .7 .9 9.3
2021–22 Houston 79 2 21.0 .533 .357 .634 3.8 1.3 .4 .5 8.8
2022–23 Houston 82 49 28.0 .569 .315 .680 5.5 1.5 .5 .4 12.7
2023–24 L.A. Clippers 2 0 15.7 .400 .200 .500 1.5 .5 1.0 .5 5.0
Philadelphia 58 2 12.3 .544 .304 .538 2.2 .9 .3 .2 3.7
Career 266 61 21.7 .544 .337 .662 4.2 1.2 .5 .5 8.9

Personal life

Martin is the son of Kenyon Martin, who was selected first overall in the 2000 NBA draft and played in the NBA for 15 years,[4] and Heather Martin.[23]

References

  1. ^ "K.J. Martin, son of former NBA star Kenyon Martin, transfers to Sierra Canyon (Calif.)". USA TODAY High School Sports. June 12, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  2. ^ "Boys' basketball: K.J. Martin, son of NBA's Kenyon Martin, is making progress at Chaminade". Los Angeles Times. November 24, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  3. ^ Spears, Marc (July 9, 2019). "How Kenyon Martin is supporting his son's decision to skip college and go pro". Andscape. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Bumbaca, Chris (March 25, 2020). "Kenyon Martin Jr., son of former No. 1 overall pick, declares for 2020 NBA Draft". USA Today. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  5. ^ Wojnarowski, Adrian (March 24, 2020). "Kenyon Martin Jr., son of longtime NBA player, declares for draft". ESPN. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  6. ^ Daniels, Evan (November 29, 2019). "Kenyon Martin Jr. and his father discuss the professional path". 247 Sports. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  7. ^ Timothy Rapp (March 24, 2020). "Kenyon Martin Jr. Declares for 2020 NBA Draft, Will Skip College". Bleacher Report. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  8. ^ Adrian Wojnarowski (March 24, 2020). "Kenyon Martin Jr., son of longtime NBA player, declares for draft". ESPN. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  9. ^ "Rockets Acquire KJ Martin Jr". Nba.com. November 25, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  10. ^ DoBose, Ben (November 30, 2020). "Rockets sign KJ Martin Jr. to four-year deal; first season guaranteed". Rockets Wire. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  11. ^ "Kenyon Martin Jr. | NBA.com". Nba.com. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Kenyon Martin Jr. 2020-21 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  13. ^ "Houston Rockets at Utah Jazz Box Score, May 8, 2021". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  14. ^ "Kenyon Martin Jr. 2021-22 Game Log".
  15. ^ Davis, Coty M. (March 30, 2023). "Exclusive: An Unbroken Vow Helping Rockets K.J. Martin Grow Leaps and Bounds In Year 3". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  16. ^ "Rockets 114, Wizards 109 : Houston fights back to win season finale". April 9, 2023.
  17. ^ "Kenyon Martin Jr. Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more".
  18. ^ "Stephen Silas excited by Houston's improvement on defense, rebounds". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  19. ^ Coty, M. Davis (March 23, 2023). "Rockets vs. Grizzlies Takeaways: K.J. Martin Motivated By Jaren Jackson Jr.'s Physicality". Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  20. ^ "Mac McClung steals the show, wins 2023 AT&T Slam Dunk". NBA.com.
  21. ^ "LA CLIPPERS ACQUIRE KENYON MARTIN JR". NBA.com. July 8, 2023.
  22. ^ "Three-Team Deal with LA Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder Completed". NBA.com. November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  23. ^ Robbins, Liz (August 26, 2003). "BASKETBALL; It's a Busy Honeymoon For Martin and His Wife". The New York Times. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
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