Caleb Martin (basketball)

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Caleb Martin
Martin in 2023
No. 16 – Miami Heat
PositionSmall forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1995-09-28) September 28, 1995 (age 28)
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school
College
NBA draft2019: undrafted
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2021Charlotte Hornets
2019–2020→Greensboro Swarm
2021–presentMiami Heat
2021→Sioux Falls Skyforce
Career highlights and awards
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Caleb Martin (born September 28, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Difference", he played college basketball for the NC State Wolfpack and the Nevada Wolf Pack. He was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year for the 2017–18 season by the league's coaches. He is the twin brother of Cody Martin.

An undrafted player in the 2019 NBA draft, Martin began his NBA career in the 2019–20 season, where he played two seasons with the Charlotte Hornets before transferring to the Miami Heat. During his stint with the Heat, he helped his team reach the NBA Finals in 2023.

High school career[edit]

Martin, a 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) small forward from Mocksville, North Carolina, played basketball for prep powerhouse Oak Hill Academy with twin brother Cody Martin. Prior to playing at Oak Hill, Caleb and his brother played three seasons at Davie County High School in Mocksville. He also played football his freshman year of high school.[1] The two committed to North Carolina State University to play for coach Mark Gottfried.

College career[edit]

Martin with NC State in 2016

As a sophomore, Martin averaged 11.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Following that season, the Martin twins chose to transfer to Nevada to play for coach Eric Musselman.[2] They thus would play for both the N.C. State Wolfpack and the Nevada Wolf Pack.

After sitting out the 2016–17 season due to NCAA transfer rules, Martin became eligible the following year. He averaged 18.9 points per game in his debut season, being named Mountain West Conference Player of the Year from the league's coaches and Newcomer of the Year from both coaches and league media.[3][4] He shared Player of the Year honors with Boise State's Chandler Hutchison, who received the MW media version of the award.[4] Martin led the Wolf Pack to a regular season conference championship and a Top 25 ranking. He and his brother then led the team to the 2018 NCAA tournament, where they advanced to the Sweet 16 after coming back from double-digits in wins over Texas and Cincinnati.[5] After finishing out his junior season, Martin and his brother both tested out the 2018 NBA draft and were in the NBA Draft Combine that year, but both ultimately decided to return for their senior seasons.

Coming into his senior season, Martin was named Preseason Mountain West Player of the Year. Martin averaged 19.2 points per game, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. He led Nevada to a 29–5 (15–3 MW) record. Martin’s college career ended with a loss in the First Round of the NCAA tournament to Florida 61–70. Martin was named to First-Team All Mountain West following the season along with fellow teammate Jordan Caroline.[6]

Professional career[edit]

Charlotte Hornets (2019–2021)[edit]

Cody and Caleb Martin (10) in 2019

After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft, Martin signed with the Charlotte Hornets on July 31, 2019. He joined his brother Cody, who was selected in the second round of the draft.[7] On October 19, the Hornets converted Martin's contract into a two-way contract.[8] Later the same day, he agreed to a multi-year deal with the Hornets and was converted to a standard deal.[9] On October 25, Martin made his NBA debut, coming off the bench in a 99–121 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves with four points, two rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.[10] On November 27, he received his first assignment to the Hornets NBA G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm.[11] On March 9, 2020, Martin scored a season-high 23 points, alongside four assists, three steals and two blocks, in a 138–143 double overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks.[12]

On April 13, 2021, Martin scored a season-high 17 points, alongside ten rebounds and five assists, in a 93–101 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.[13] On May 4, he again scored 17 points, alongside five rebounds, two assists and two steals, in a 102–99 win over the Detroit Pistons.[14]

On August 7, 2021, Martin was waived by the Hornets.[15]

Miami Heat (2021–present)[edit]

On September 14, 2021, Martin signed with the Miami Heat on a two-way contract, splitting time with the Sioux Falls Skyforce.[16] He made his Heat debut on October 21, recording five points and two steals in a 137–95 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.[17] On December 8, Martin scored a career-high 28 points, alongside eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, in a 113–104 win over the Bucks.[18] On February 15, 2022, the Heat converted Martin's contract to a standard deal.[19] During the playoffs, the Heat faced the Atlanta Hawks during their first round series. Martin made his playoff debut on April 17, scoring two points in a 115–91 Game 1 win.[20] The Heat reached the Eastern Conference Finals, but were eliminated in seven games by the Boston Celtics.

On July 6, 2022, Martin re-signed with the Heat on a 3-year, $20 million deal.[21][22] On October 22, 2022, during a 112–109 win over the Toronto Raptors, Martin was ejected after an altercation with Raptors center Christian Koloko.[23] The next day, the NBA suspended Martin for one game without pay due to the altercation.[24]

During the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs, Martin played a key role in the eight-seed Heat upsetting the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks,[25] averaging 11.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2 assists per game. On May 19, 2023, Martin scored 25 points during a 111–105 Game 2 Eastern Conference Finals win against the Boston Celtics.[26] In Game 7 of the series, Martin scored 26 points, and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 103–84 win, helping the Heat advance to their second NBA Finals appearance in four years.[27] Martin came one vote short of besting teammate Jimmy Butler for Eastern Conference Finals MVP while averaging 19.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, whilst shooting 60.2% from the field and 48.9% from three.[28] Martin struggled in the NBA Finals averaging only 7.4 points on 37.5% shooting. The Heat lost the Finals in 5 games to the Denver Nuggets.[29]

Career statistics[edit]

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[edit]

Regular season[edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019–20 Charlotte 18 1 17.6 .440 .541 .810 2.1 1.3 .7 .4 6.2
2020–21 Charlotte 53 3 15.4 .375 .248 .641 2.7 1.3 .7 .2 5.0
2021–22 Miami 60 12 22.9 .507 .413 .763 3.8 1.1 1.0 .5 9.2
2022–23 Miami 71 49 29.3 .464 .356 .805 4.9 1.6 1.0 .4 9.6
2023–24 Miami 64 23 27.4 .431 .349 .778 4.4 2.2 .7 .5 10.0
Career 266 88 23.8 .450 .357 .762 3.9 1.6 .8 .4 8.5

Play-in[edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2021 Charlotte 1 0 5.8 .750 .667 — .0 1.0 1.0 .0 8.0
2023 Miami 2 0 27.8 .286 .250 .500 5.0 1.0 .0 .0 3.0
2024 Miami 2 2 24.7 .500 .667 .000 4.5 1.0 .5 1.0 6.0
Career 5 2 22.1 .476 .500 .250 3.8 1.0 .4 .4 5.2

Playoffs[edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2022 Miami 17 0 12.3 .400 .303 .333 2.2 .3 .6 .1 4.5
2023 Miami 23 4 30.2 .529 .423 .829 5.4 1.6 .9 .4 12.7
Career 40 4 22.6 .493 .394 .756 4.1 1.0 .8 .3 9.2

College[edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 NC State 36 1 16.6 .356 .305 .695 2.9 .7 .3 .3 4.8
2015–16 NC State 33 19 30.3 .389 .361 .667 4.7 1.4 .9 .6 11.5
2017–18 Nevada 36 26 33.3 .454 .403 .749 5.4 2.6 1.3 .6 18.9
2018–19 Nevada 34 33 34.1 .409 .338 .732 5.1 2.8 1.4 .8 19.2
Career 139 79 28.5 .414 .359 .725 4.5 1.9 1.0 .6 13.6

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Caleb Martin - Men's Basketball".
  2. ^ Giglio, Joe (May 25, 2016). "NC State's Martin twins to transfer to Nevada". The News & Observer. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  3. ^ "Nevada's Caleb Martin top player, newcomer in Mountain West". Foxsports.com. March 6, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Mountain West Announces 2017–18 Men's Basketball All-Conference Team" (Press release). Mountain West Conference. March 6, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  5. ^ Kirshner, Alex (March 20, 2018). "These twins have fueled Nevada's Sweet 16 run. Meet Caleb and Cody Martin". SB Nation. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  6. ^ "Mountain West announces 2018–2019 men's basketball All-conference team" (Press release). Mountain West Conference. March 12, 2019. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  7. ^ "Hornets Sign Second-Round Draft Pick Cody Martin and Free Agent Caleb Martin". NBA.com. July 31, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  8. ^ Wash, Quinton (October 19, 2019). "Charlotte Hornets Convert Caleb Martin To Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  9. ^ Wash, Quinton (October 19, 2019). "Charlotte Hornets Sign Caleb Martin". NBA.com. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  10. ^ "Towns scores 37 points, Timberwolves rout Hornets 121–99". ESPN.com. October 25, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  11. ^ Wash, Quinton (November 27, 2019). "Hornets Assign Caleb Martin & Jalen McDaniels To Greensboro Swarm". NBA.com. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  12. ^ "YOUNG HAS 31 AS HAWKS OUTLAST HORNETS 143-138 IN DOUBLE-OT". NBA.com. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  13. ^ "KUZMA NETS 24, LIFTS LAKERS PAST SHORT-HANDED HORNETS 101-93". NBA.com. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  14. ^ "HORNETS HOLD ON FOR CRUCIAL 102-99 WIN OVER PISTONS". NBA.com. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  15. ^ "Hornets Waive Caleb Martin". NBA.com. August 7, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  16. ^ "Heat Signs Caleb Martin". NBA.com. September 14, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  17. ^ "HERRO SCORES 27 POINTS, HEAT ROUT BUCKS 137-95 IN OPENER". NBA.com. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  18. ^ "MARTIN SCORES CAREER-HIGH 28 AS HEAT BEAT BUCKS 113-104". NBA.com. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  19. ^ "HEAT CONVERT CALEB MARTIN TO STANDARD NBA CONTRACT". NBA. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  20. ^ "ROBINSON MAKES EIGHT 3S, HEAT TOP HAWKS 115-91 IN GAME 1". NBA.com. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  21. ^ "Caleb Martin re-signs with Heat on 3-year deal". NBA.com. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  22. ^ "Caleb Martin agrees to 3-year, $20 million deal to return to Miami Heat, source confirms". ESPN. July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  23. ^ "Heat's Caleb Martin tackles Raptors' Christian Koloko into stands, leads to wild skirmish". Fox Sports. October 23, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  24. ^ "Heat's Caleb Martin and Nikola Jović suspended; Raptors' Christian Koloko fined". NBA. October 24, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  25. ^ Caleb Martin helps Miami Heat spring one of NBA's biggest playoff series upsets ever
  26. ^ Celtics have NBA Sixth Man of Year; Heat have East finals best reserve as series moves to Miami
  27. ^ "Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin lead Heat past Celtics in Game 7". NBA.com. May 29, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  28. ^ Maloney, Jack (May 29, 2023). "Eastern Conference finals MVP: Heat's Jimmy Butler get honor that should have gone to Caleb Martin". CBSSports.com. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  29. ^ "Caleb Martin 2022-23 Stats per Game - NBA". ESPN. Retrieved February 20, 2024.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Caleb Martin.
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