Kenyon Martin
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| Position | Power forward |
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| Height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Weight | 240 lb (110 kg) |
| League | NBA |
| Team | Denver Nuggets |
| Jersey | #4 |
| Born | December 30, 1977 Saginaw, Michigan |
| Nationality | USA |
| High school | Bryan Adams High School |
| College | Cincinnati |
| Draft | 1st overall, 2000 New Jersey Nets |
| Pro career | 2000–present |
| Former teams | New Jersey Nets (2000–2004) |
| Awards | 2000 Oscar Robertson Trophy, 2000 John R. Wooden Award 2000 Naismith College Player of the Year 2000-01 NBA All-Rookie First Team 2003-04 All-Star |
| Official profile | Player Info |
Kenyon Lee Martin (born December 30, 1977, in Saginaw, Michigan) is an American professional basketball player. Nicknamed "K-Mart," he currently plays power forward for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association.
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[edit] College career
Martin was a talented and extremely boisterous player in college, playing for the Cincinnati Bearcats under the direction of Bob Huggins. As a senior, he averaged 18.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game. He was the consensus National Player of the Year, earning numerous awards from various organizations, but suffered a broken leg in the Conference USA Tournament, keeping him out of the NCAA Tournament that year. Cincinnati retired his #4 jersey on April 25, 2000. Later that year, he was selected first overall in the 2000 NBA Draft by the New Jersey Nets. Martin is currently the last American-born college senior to have been the top overall pick; the top picks since him consist of three high school players (Kwame Brown, LeBron James and Dwight Howard), one international player with two years of U.S. college experience (Andrew Bogut), two international players with no American college experience (Yao Ming and Andrea Bargnani) and one college freshman (Greg Oden) who is currently injured until next year.
[edit] NBA career
[edit] New Jersey
As a rookie for the New Jersey Nets, Martin moved from center to power forward and averaged 12 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. In his second season, Martin averaged 14.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.7 blocks per game in helping the Nets rise from last place in the Atlantic Division to an Eastern Conference title and the best season to date in the Nets' NBA history. Along with Nets stars Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson, Martin led the Nets to the 2002 NBA Finals, where they were swept by the Los Angeles Lakers. In his third season Martin again helped his team into the NBA Finals, where the Nets lost in six games against the San Antonio Spurs. The next year, Martin averaged 16.7 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks en route to his first NBA All-Star selection, as a backup forward for the Eastern Conference All-Stars. In the 2004 NBA All-Star Game, Martin scored 17 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and had 3 assists. Martin and teammate Alonzo Mourning almost fought when Martin mocked Mourning's life-threatening kidney disease.[1] Martin later admitted that he had made a mistake and apologized to Mourning. He received a taste of his own medicine when then New Jersey teammate Tim Thomas remarked on Martin's speech impediment and eye twitching tic.[2]
[edit] Denver
At the end of the 2003-04 NBA season, Martin was traded to the Denver Nuggets for three future 1st round draft picks in a sign-and-trade deal.
In 2006, Martin was suspended from the Denver Nuggets indefinitely for "conduct detrimental to the team."[3] During halftime of game two in the first round of the 2006 NBA playoffs between the Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers, Martin got into an argument with head coach George Karl over his playing time, and proceeded to refuse to play for the second half of the game. During the offseason, Karl and Martin apparently "patched things up."[4]
Martin had microfracture surgery on his right knee and missed all but two games of the 2006-07 NBA season.[4] He was on the opening day roster of the 2007-08 NBA season and changed his uniform number from 6 to the number 4, which he wore in college.[5]
During the third-quarter of a 2006 game against the Chicago Bulls, a fan sitting two rows behind Martin yelled at him, "Suit up, you chump," referring to the fact Martin was in the midst of one of his various stints on the injured reserve and in street clothes behind the Nuggets bench. All accounts indicate that the fan did not use any profanities. At that point, Martin is said to have stood up, pointed at the heckler, and then motioned to one of his 'bodyguards' to go confront the heckling fan, ordering "shut him up". His friend then stood up and yelled at the heckler, "Shut your mouth before we take you outside and beat your (expletive)!." He also apparently screamed at a Nuggets fan named Don Miller--who, along with his teenage son, happened to be sitting next to the heckler--calling him a "fat (expletive) white boy." Martin was subsequently fined $15,000.[6][7]
On February 11, 2006, after a Denver win over the Dallas Mavericks, a volatile Martin was involved in a heated and profanity-laced locker room exchange with a local reporter.[8]
[edit] Darrent Williams slaying
On January 1, 2007, Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was murdered after attending a birthday party held for and by Martin.[9] The Hummer limo Williams rode in was riddled with bullets. The Denver Police Department reported that the shooting was preceded by some type of altercation or argument at the nightclub between Crips gang members and other unknown patrons. A police spokesman said, "There was some confrontation between a group of people in the vehicle and a group at the nightclub."[10][11] Williams was not involved in the altercation.
Martin's 2008 bash was held at an incident-free "secure" mansion in Miami, complete with an extensive guest list, red carpets, ice sculptures and exotic dancers.[12]
[edit] Personal life
Martin is the half-brother on his mother's side of Colorado Buffaloes star guard Richard Roby. He is also the cousin of Robert "50" Martin of AND1 Mixtape Tour fame.
[edit] References
- ^ ESPN - Retirement necessary after three-year battle - NBA
- ^ Tim Thomas: An Honest Man. [Archive] - Arizona Sports Fans Network
- ^ http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nba/article/0,2777,DRMN_23922_4651346,00.html
- ^ a b http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/nuggets/2006-11-09-kenyon-martin_x.htm
- ^ The Denver Post - Martin confident he'll play in opener
- ^ Sports Law Blog
- ^ Dino Costa - Tag Story Index - USATODAY.com
- ^ USATODAY.com - Nuggets' Martin exchanges obscenities with reporter
- ^ ESPN - Williams killed when limo sprayed with bullets - NFL
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2716385
- ^ Broncos' Darrent Williams gunned down in limoThe Denver Post. January 1, 2007.
- ^ K-Mart knows how to throw a party
[edit] External links
- Kenyon Martin NBA Profile
- 2000 Oscar Robertson Trophy College Basketball Player of the Year
| Preceded by Elton Brand |
Naismith College Player of the Year (men) 2000 |
Succeeded by Shane Battier |
| Preceded by Elton Brand |
John R. Wooden Award (men) 2000 |
Succeeded by Shane Battier |
| Preceded by Elton Brand |
NBA first overall draft pick 2000 NBA Draft |
Succeeded by Kwame Brown |
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Martin, Kenyon |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | American basketball player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 30, 1977 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Saginaw, Michigan |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
