Damian Martin
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Damian Patrick Martin (born 5 September 1984) is an Australian former professional
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
player. He played four years of
college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
in the United States for the
Loyola Marymount Lions The Loyola Marymount Lions are the athletic teams that represent Loyola Marymount University, a Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, Jesuit institution in Los Angeles, California. The school competes in NCAA Division I and the West Co ...
before playing 13 years in the National Basketball League (NBL). After two seasons with the West Sydney Razorbacks / Sydney Spirit, he joined the Perth Wildcats in 2009 and won six NBL championships in 11 seasons. He also won the NBL Best Defensive Player Award six times, leading to the league naming the trophy after him upon his retirement.


Early life and career

Martin was born in
Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...
,
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
. He attended Gloucester High School, where he initially played
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
. As a 15-year-old at the NSW Institute of Sport, Martin was encouraged by Rob Beveridge to concentrate on
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
. He later moved to
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
to attend the
Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...
(AIS) and Lake Ginninderra Secondary College. In 2002 and 2003, Martin played for the AIS in the
South East Australian Basketball League The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was a semi-professional basketball league in Australia comprising both a men's and women's competition. The SEABL began in 1981 and operated for 38 seasons until it was disbanded in 2018. The ...
(SEABL). He subsequently went on to play for the Australian national junior team at the
2003 FIBA Under-19 World Championship The 2003 FIBA Under-19 World Championship (Greek: 2003 Παγκόσμιο Πρωτάθλημα FIBA Under-19) was the 7th edition of the FIBA U19 World Championship organized by FIBA. It was held in the Greek city of Thessaloniki from 10 to 20 J ...
, where he won a gold medal.


College career

Between 2003 and 2007, Martin played
college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
in the United States for the
Loyola Marymount Lions The Loyola Marymount Lions are the athletic teams that represent Loyola Marymount University, a Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, Jesuit institution in Los Angeles, California. The school competes in NCAA Division I and the West Co ...
. As a freshman in 2003–04, he was earned WCC All-Freshman Team honours. An Achilles tendon injury saw him miss the entire 2005–06 season. He returned to the team for the 2006–07 season and was the WCC Defensive Player of the Year. Martin was eligible for a fifth season in 2007–08 but elected to pursue a professional career. In three seasons, he played 88 games with 69 starts and averaged 4.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game.


Professional career


West Sydney Razorbacks / Sydney Spirit (2007–2009)

Martin began his professional career with the West Sydney Razorbacks of the National Basketball League, but suffered a season-ending knee injury ten games into the 2007–08 NBL season. Following the
Sydney Kings The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and play their home games at Qudos Ba ...
' withdrawal from the NBL, the Razorbacks re-branded as the Sydney Spirit for the 2008–09 season. Martin subsequently returned to the franchise for a second season. The Spirit quickly fell into financial difficulty and were saved from collapse mid season thanks to a rescue package from the NBL. The players and coaches all took significant pay cuts, with the entire team agreeing to live off just $150,000 between them to keep the franchise going—roughly $700 per week for Martin. Furthermore, Martin played much of the season with a broken wrist. In the 2009 off-season, Martin played for the Parramatta Wildcats in the Waratah League.


Perth Wildcats (2009–2020)

Martin joined the Perth Wildcats for the 2009–10 NBL season. In his first season, he helped the Wildcats finish the regular season in first place with a 17–11 record and reach the NBL Grand Final. In the grand final series, the Wildcats defeated the
Wollongong Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) are an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketbal ...
2–1 to win the
championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
. In the 2010 off-season, Martin played for the East Perth Eagles in the
State Basketball League NBL1 West, formerly the State Basketball League (SBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Western Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Western Australia partnered with the National Basketball L ...
. In the 2010–11 season, Martin won the NBL Best Defensive Player Award and was named to the All-NBL First Team. The Wildcats finished fourth with a 16–12 record and lost 2–1 in the semi-finals to the
New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Bank of New Zealand, BNZ Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers are the only non-Australian side currently competing in Austral ...
. In the 2011–12 season, Martin won his second straight NBL Best Defensive Player Award. He helped the Wildcats reach the NBL Grand Final series, where they lost 2–1 to the New Zealand Breakers. In the 2012–13 season, Martin won his third straight NBL Best Defensive Player Award. In January 2013, Martin was named co-captain of the Wildcats alongside Shawn Redhage. He missed the 2013 grand final series with a partial tear of his Achilles tendon. For the 2013–14 season, Martin was named sole captain of the Wildcats. He won his fourth straight NBL Best Defensive Player Award. He helped the Wildcats reach a third straight grand final, where they defeated the
Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in the state's capital of Adela ...
2–1 to win the NBL championship. On 14 May 2014, Martin re-signed with the Wildcats on a two-year deal (with the option of a third). In October 2014, he had a game with nine steals, the second most in club history behind Ricky Grace's 10 in 1990. He was subsequently named Player of the Week for round three. He played his 200th NBL game during the 2014–15 season and won his fifth straight NBL Best Defensive Player Award.NBL Awards: Defensive Player of the Year
/ref> On 4 November 2015, Martin suffered a broken jaw and missing teeth following an errant elbow from
Townsville Crocodiles The Townsville Crocodiles were an Australian professional men's basketball team based in the North Queensland city of Townsville. They competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at the Townsville Entertain ...
forward Brian Conklin. He played his 200th game for the Wildcats during the 2015–16 NBL season. The team finished second with an 18–10 record and defeated the Illawarra Hawks 2–1 in the semi-finals. In the grand final series, the Wildcats defeated the New Zealand Breakers 2–1 to win the NBL championship. Martin was named Grand Final MVP. On 2 June 2016, Martin signed a new three-year deal with the Wildcats. He was sidelined early in the 2016–17 NBL season with a head and knee injury. He played his 250th NBL game in January. The Wildcats finished the regular season in third place with a 15–13 record, and played the second-seeded
Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Convention Centre, known colloquially as "The S ...
in the semi-finals, a series the Wildcats swept 2–0. The series sweep advanced the Wildcats into the NBL Grand Final for the sixth time in eight years. In the best-of-five grand final series against the Illawarra Hawks, Martin helped the Wildcats win 3–0 to claim the championship. Martin played his 250th game for the Wildcats during the 2017–18 NBL season and won the NBL Best Defensive Player Award for a record-breaking sixth time. In the 2018–19 NBL season, Martin missed six games early with a low grade tear to his right calf muscle. Coach Trevor Gleeson credited Martin's late-season form as one of the key reasons for the Wildcats riding a wave of momentum towards the finals. The Wildcats finished with an 18–10 record to claim the minor premiership, before going on to reach the NBL Grand Final series, where they defeated Melbourne United 3–1 to win the championship. Martin and long-time teammate Jesse Wagstaff became the first players in NBL history to win five championships with just one club. On 5 April 2019, Martin re-signed with the Wildcats for the 2019–20 season. In December 2019, he played his 300th game for the Wildcats. He missed the entire month of January with a left heel injury, returning for the final two regular season games. In March 2020, he was crowned an NBL champion for the sixth time, becoming one of just four players in NBL history to win six titles, with he and teammate Jesse Wagstaff the only to do it at one club. Following the season, it was revealed Martin had played through the year with an Achilles injury that required a post-season reconstruction. On 21 July 2020, Martin announced his retirement from basketball after 13 seasons in the NBL and 342 games. Upon retiring, the league named its Best Defensive Player trophy in honour of Martin. On 4 February 2024, the Wildcats retired Martin's number 53 jersey.


National team career

Martin played for the Australian Boomers at the 2009 FIBA Oceania Championship,
2010 FIBA World Championship The 2010 FIBA World Championship was the 16th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship contested by the List of men's national basketball teams, men's national teams. The tournament ran from 28 August to 12 Septem ...
, 2011 London Invitational Tournament, 2011 FIBA Oceania Championship, 2016 Rio Olympics, and 2019 FIBA World Cup qualifiers.


Career statistics

Source:


Personal life

Martin is the son of Anne and Raymond Martin, and has three brothers, Daniel, John and Anthony, and one sister, Beth. Martin and his wife, Brittany, have three daughters. In October 2024, Martin was appointed by the
Fremantle Football Club The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Dockers or colloquially Freo, is a professional Australian rules football club competing in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The team was founded in 1994 to represen ...
to oversee their AFL Leadership program.


References


External links


NBL profilePerth Wildcats profileNBL statsDamian Martin: Red Army HeroDamian Martin: Most Inspiring ManAustralia's Most Humble Rio Olympian Just Had Two Amazing WinsA Life Changing Phone Call300 Games Later: Rob Beveridge and Damian Martin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Damian 1984 births Living people Australian men's basketball players Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Australian Institute of Sport basketball players Basketball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball players Olympic basketball players for Australia People educated at Lake Ginninderra College Basketball players from New South Wales Perth Wildcats players Point guards West Sydney Razorbacks players Basketball players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists in basketball 2010 FIBA World Championship players Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games 21st-century Australian sportsmen