Kenyon Martin
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| Player information | ||
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| birthday | 30th December 1977 (age 42) | |
| place of birth | Saginaw (Michigan) , United States | |
| size | 206 cm | |
| position | Power forward | |
| college | Cincinnati | |
| NBA draft | 2000 , 1st Pick, New Jersey Nets | |
| Clubs as active | ||
2000–2004 New Jersey Nets 2004–2011 Denver Nuggets 2011 Xinjiang Flying Tigers 2012 Los Angeles Clippers 2013–2014 New York Knicks 2015 Milwaukee Bucks 
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| National team | ||
| 2001-2003
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United States | |
Kenyon Martin (born December 30, 1977 in Saginaw , Michigan ) is a retired American basketball player. He is 2.06 meters tall and weighs 109 kilograms. These values enabled him to occupy the power forward position in his team . In the US media, Kenyon Martin is also often referred to as K-Mart.
Style of play
Martin's height of 2.06 meters made him an NBA- compatible power forward. But this was not enough to be able to play in the playoffs against other teams with larger wingers on an equal footing. Martin largely compensates for this physical deficit with a high degree of aggressiveness and jumping power. Kenyon Martin was considered one of the best defenders and the most spectacular dunkers in his position. Repeatedly thrown back from injuries resulting from this physically tough style of play, K-Mart was repeatedly forced to suspend games or not fully utilize his physical abilities. Martin's aggressiveness in the game has given him several bans in the NBA in addition to the reputation of a bully. Most recently, he had to pause four games involuntarily due to a brawl with the Los Angeles Clippers player Corey Maggette. Since Martin relied primarily on his physical superiority over other players, especially at the beginning of his career, other aspects of his game suffered. His weakness in throws from the middle distance make him easy to calculate for defending opponents. His relatively good career throw rate is mainly due to numerous dunks and light lay-ups, served by his teammates. His play on the edge of the zone was also neglected. Instead of playing with his back to the basket as usual for his position, Martin tries to storm past his opponent with one quick step. But it is precisely his injuries that make such a movement difficult for him.
Professional career
Martin initially played four years at the University of Cincinnati for the Cincinnati Bearcats . He quit college as the best shot blocker in Bearcats history. In his senior year of college, Martin averaged 18.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.5 blocks. The Bearcats withdrew jersey number 4 in 2000 in his honor. Martin also won many college awards, including the best college player of the season in the NCAA .
Drawn by the New Jersey Nets as the first player in the 2000 draft and thus the last senior to be drawn to position number 1, Kenyon Martin spent the first four years of his career on the US east coast. During this time he was able to steadily increase his values for points, rebounds and minutes. In 2001, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team for his first year performance . From this year he was supported by Jason Kidd as a development player, who formed a spectacular duo with K-Mart. In the 2001/2002 season, the New Jersey Nets reached the playoffs for the first time with Kenyon Martin. In 2002 and 2003 they advanced to the NBA finals, where they failed first at the Los Angeles Lakers , then at the San Antonio Spurs .
In the 2003/2004 season, the Nets failed for the first time in two seasons in the semifinals of the Eastern Conference. This season Martin had his - statistically - best year (regular season: 16.7 points; 9.5 rebounds in 35 minutes per game). He was also invited to the NBA All-Star Game for the first time . This was his first and only bet in an All-Star game. In 2004 Martin's contract with the Nets ran out.
With his pretty good statistics from the 2003/2004 season, he switched to the Denver Nuggets, who were looking for an athletic, relatively young power forward for their fast game. Martin signed a maximum contract that was worth a total of over 90 million dollars over 6, optionally 7 years. Martin now took the position of starting power forward in Denver, which was absolutely necessary due to the size of his salary. But even his contract couldn't change the fact that he had to come to terms with a system with several point collectors in Denver. His scores and rebounds tended to drop in the first year. The Nuggets failed in the 2005 playoffs to the San Antonio Spurs in the first round 1: 4.
The next season 2005/2006 brought no improvement either. Martin's values were worse than they have been since his season as a rookie. Also in 2006 the Nuggets were eliminated in the first round, against the Los Angeles Clippers with 1: 4. In addition to the shortcomings on the field, Martin was also criticized for his slips off the pitch. He was even suspended from the last game in the series with the Clippers. In the offseason they wanted to get rid of him. A trade with another team didn't work out, even if the nuggets made many different offers. Nobody really wanted K-Mart, especially because their contract was way too expensive.
In the offseason he reconciled with coach George Karl , who gave him a new chance. In the 2006/2007 season he put on good statistics in the first two games and achieved almost double-digit values on average in points and rebounds in both games. Then, however, he was seriously injured in the game against the Timberwolves, because shortly afterwards it turned out that he had torn a cruciate ligament . It should have been his last game of the season and the Nuggets had to contend for the third time for the third year in a row with a player who was out for the entire season.
Martin stayed with the Nuggets until summer 2011. Due to a lockout and the resulting possible failure of the NBA season, as well as the fact that Martin became a free agent , he decided to move to China to the Xinjiang Flying Tigers . Martin signed a one-year contract with the Flying Tigers on September 21, 2011, with no release clause, and became the highest-paid foreigner in the history of Chinese basketball. His contract was terminated shortly before the start of the 2011/12 NBA season . The dissolution was justified with family problems. Martin then returned to the United States and signed a contract with the Los Angeles Clippers in February 2012 and made his debut for the Clippers on February 8, 2012.
At the beginning of the 2012/13 season there were no offers from other teams for Martin, so he initially remained without a contract. On February 21, 2013, Martin signed a ten-day contract with the New York Knicks . Martin stayed with the Knicks until the end of the season. After the end of the season, his contract was not extended. On January 8, 2015, Martin signed a 10-day contract with the Milwaukee Bucks , but it was not renewed. In the summer of 2015, Martin announced his retirement from professional sport.
Web links
- Kenyon Martin - player profile on NBA.com
- Kenyon Martin - player profile on basketball-reference.com
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Martin, Kenyon |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American basketball player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 30, 1977 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Saginaw (Michigan) , Michigan |