Kevin Martin (basketball)

Kevin Martin

Martin during his tenure with the Kings
No. 12   Houston Rockets
Shooting guard / Small forward
Personal information
Date of birth	February 1, 1983 (1983-02-01)
Place of birth	Zanesville, Ohio
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
College	Western Carolina
NBA Draft	2004 / Round: 1 / Pick: 26th overall
Selected by the Sacramento Kings
Pro career	2004–present
Career history
Sacramento Kings (2004–2010) Houston Rockets (2010–present)
Career highlights and awards
Oscar Robertson Triple Double Award (2008)
Stats at NBA.com

Kevin Dallas Martin, Jr. (born February 1, 1983(1983-02-01)) is an American professional basketball player currently with the Houston Rockets in the NBA. He is known for his knack for scoring, deceptive quickness and unorthodox style of shooting.

High school and college

Born in Zanesville, Ohio, he played for Zanesville High School. He then received a full scholarship to Western Carolina University, where he majored in sports management. He ranks fourth all-time on Western Carolina's scoring list with 1,838 points. Martin is also a regular attendant at the Zanesville Gus Macker, where he played in the Top Men's Bracket for Domino's Pizza for several years after entering the NBA.

NBA career

Martin was a standout while at Western Carolina. Due to his success, he was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the 26th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft.

2004–05

In the 2004–05 season, Martin averaged 2.9 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game, and played sparingly, averaging just 10 minutes a game.

2005–06

He showed much improvement the following year, averaging 10.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. Martin also started from time to time during the 2005–06 season in part by the injury of Bonzi Wells. This included a start at small forward due to Ron Artest being suspended for Game Two of the team's first-round playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs following a flagrant foul (elbow to the head) on Manu Ginóbili. He is best known in that series for making the game winning buzzer beater in Game 3 in Sacramento that gave the Kings a 1–2 series against the Spurs. His shot was also over the San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan.

When interviewed on a segment by TNT during a game, Martin credited Doug Christie for helping him learn how to defend in the NBA. Likewise, Martin also credited Cuttino Mobley for helping him with his shooting. Martin played behind both guards during their tenure with the Kings.

2006–07

In the general managers' survey at the start of the 2006–07 NBA season, Martin tied for second as the player most likely to have a breakout campaign, behind Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard. During the 2006–07 season, Kevin Martin proved himself to be among the top scorers in the NBA, averaging 20.2 points per game, while averaging 4.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists, all career highs. He is also one of the best shooters in the league with a 47.3% shooting percentage from the field and 38.1% from beyond the three-point arc (along with 84.4% FT shooting). Kevin finished second to Monta Ellis in the NBA Most Improved Player Award.

On March 17, 2007, Martin led the Kings to a 95-83 road win over the Orlando Magic and joined Nate Archibald as the only other player in NBA history to score at least 20 points in a game with only one field goal made. Martin tallied 20 points on 1-8 FG from the field (1-1 3pt) while knocking down 17-20 FT from the foul line.

On August 28, 2007, the Sacramento Kings and Martin agreed to a 5-year, $55 million deal.

2007–08

Martin got off to a fast start to the NBA season, while in the first 15 games was the NBA's leading scorer with 29.6 PPG. Martin finished the season 6th in the NBA in scoring at 23.7 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.1 APG and averaging 45% from the court and 40% from three point range. However, he missed 17 games due to a groin injury. Also during the year, on March 7, 2008, Martin scored a career high 48 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

2008–09

Martin became the leader of the team following the Ron Artest trade during the offseason. He started the season strong, however he suffered an ankle injury which kept him out 15 games. He returned, but re-aggravated his injury shortly thereafter. After returning again, he helped the Kings snap a 6-game losing streak. Martin averaged 24.3 points per game during the remainder of the season, including an overtime loss on April 1, 2009 against the Golden State Warriors, in which he scored a career-high 50 points.

2009–10

Martin was traded to the Houston Rockets on February 18, 2010 as part of a three-way trade including the New York Knicks and the Sacramento Kings. In his debut as a Rocket, Martin scored just 3-16 from the field, but 8-9 from the line, ending the game with 14 points, in a 125-115 loss to the Indiana Pacers. On April 12th, in his first game back in Sacramento's Arco Arena, Martin scored 39 points, scoring 11 of 20, making all 16 of his foul shot attempts.

2010-11

Martin scored a season-high 40 points in a 110-95 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers and went on to score 45 points in a loss against the Portland Trail Blazers. By the end of the season he averaged 23.4 points per game in 32 minutes of playing time each match. Martin shot .383 at the three-point line, and he was also near .900 from free throw range.

2011-12

After commissioner David Stern, acting as owner of the New Orleans Hornets, vetoed a three-team deal involving the Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers that that would have sent Martin to New Orleans, he stayed with Houston for the lockout-shortened season.

NBA 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

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2004–05	Sacramento	45	0	10.1	.385	.200	.655	1.3	.5	.4	.1	2.9
2005–06	Sacramento	72	41	26.6	.480	.369	.847	3.6	1.3	.8	.1	10.8
2006–07	Sacramento	80	80	35.2	.473	.381	.844	4.3	2.2	1.2	.1	20.2
2007–08	Sacramento	61	57	36.3	.456	.402	.869	4.5	2.1	1.0	.1	23.7
2008–09	Sacramento	51	46	38.2	.420	.415	.867	3.6	2.7	1.2	.2	24.6
2009–10	Sacramento	22	21	35.2	.398	.355	.819	4.3	2.6	1.1	.2	19.8
2009–10	Houston	24	22	35.8	.435	.310	.924	2.9	2.3	1.0	.1	21.3
2010–11	Houston	80	80	32.5	.436	.383	.888	3.2	2.5	1.0	.2	23.4
Career		435	347	31.2	.446	.381	.863	3.5	2.0	1.0	.1	18.5

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2005–06	Sacramento	6	1	32.8	.407	.316	1.000	5.0	.5	.5	.3	13.2
Career		6	1	32.8	.407	.316	1.000	5.0	.5	.5	.3	13.2

Personal

In June 2010, Kevin Martin volunteered to donate money to pay for the funeral of Kasey King-Thomas, a six-year-old boy who died in a school bus accident near Martin’s hometown. Martin also voiced his support for an Ohio law requiring seat belts in school buses.

External links

• Kevin Martin at NBA.com
• Kevin Martin at Basketball-Reference.com