Kenyon Martin Jr., the son of former No. 1 overall draft pick Kenyon Martin, has declared for the 2020 NBA draft, his father told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The younger Martin opted not to play college basketball at Vanderbilt in 2019/20, instead spending the year at IMG Academy. The 6’7″ wing confirmed his draft decision in a post on Instagram, thanking the “coaching staff, the weight trainers, my teammates, and everyone at IMG” for helping him through the last year.
“I appreciate everyone who has supported me and my decisions is up to this point,” Martin Jr. wrote. “There was a lot of hate and doubt about my journey but I feel I’ve done what was best for me and now is the time to take the next step which is to declare for the 2020 NBA Draft. It has been a lifelong dream of mine and I will continue to work day by day to prove to myself and everyone that this is where I belong.”
The pre-draft process, which will be limited this spring, could be important for Martin Jr., who will get feedback from NBA teams after not playing against NCAA competition this season. As Wojnarowski notes, the youngster averaged 20 points and eight rebounds at IMG Academy. He’s currently the No. 53 prospect on ESPN’s big board.
Hope he becomes a Net. Dad was one of my favorite Nets. always played with such fire and intensity
2021 GLeague letterman
Geez, I am getting old.
Thought the exact same thing. Remember watching his dad at Cincy before his injury. He was a man among boys; what a beast.
To many early draft choices this year. looks like a lot of players will go undrafted.
Yep, and as a result, I truly think you will see a bit more high quality undrafted players make it onto some squads..
There are always some good UDFA signings and finds every year, but I think this year there is a high quantity of quality role players.
There might not be alot of true all-star caliber talents, but this class is actually very deep with players that could immediately help teams fill out their rotations..
Seems to be about 30 or so starters, but there are countless more role players. These guys could really find their way to getting some court time because there are alot of guys that have very defined, specialized skillsets. Whether they are specifically good rebounders and defenders, solid wing defenders, guys that came flat out score off the bench, 3-point specialists, 3&D wings, combo guards, stretch 4s and 5s, small ball 5s, versatile, playmaking bigs, etc..
Like I said, unless you’re in the lottery, and high up at that, your team likely won’t get an all-star caliber talent, but this will be an excellent draft to acquire starters and role players to fill out a team’s rotation..