Kenyon Lee "KJ" Martin Jr. (born January 6, 2001) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Divisio ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA). He attended

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. IMG Academy is set across over 600 acres and features programs consisting of sport camps for youth athletes, adult camps, a boar ...

for his

postgraduate year A postgraduate (PG) year is an extra year of secondary coursework at a boarding school following high school graduation, but before entering college. It is a gap year option intended for students who either have not applied or were not admitt ...

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...

High school career

Kenyon Martin Jr attended Oaks Christian High School as a freshman but did not play basketball that year. Early in the school year, Kenyon Martin Jr was pulled out of Oaks Christian to be homeschooled. After his freshman year, he was enrolled in Chaminade College Preparatory where he started playing basketball as a sophomore. A three-star recruit from

Sierra Canyon School , motto_translation = Excellence is its own reward , established = 1978 , type = Independent, Coeducational , head_name = Head of School , head = James P. Skrumbis , ...

Chatsworth, California Chatsworth is a suburban neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley. The area was home to Native Americans, some of whom left caves containing rock art. Chatsworth was explored and colonized by the Spanis ...

, Martin played alongside

Scotty Pippen Jr. Scotty Maurice Pippen Jr. (born November 10, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the South Bay Lakers of the NBA G League. He pla ...

and

Cassius Stanley Cassius Jerome Stanley (born August 18, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils. High school career Stanley first attended H ...

. Martin averaged 16.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per game for the back-to-back California Open Division champions. Martin originally committed to play collegiately for

Vanderbilt Vanderbilt may refer to: People *Vanderbilt (surname) *Vanderbilt family Places In the United States: * Vanderbilt, California, a former gold-mining town *Vanderbilt, Michigan, a village *Vanderbilt, Nevada, a ghost town * Vanderbilt Mansion Nat ...

before opting for a

. He averaged 20 points and eight rebounds per game at IMG Academy, drawing praise for his athleticism. Martin scored 37 points at the National Prep Showcase and demonstrated an improved jump shot. Martin declared for the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecti ...

on March 24, 2020.

Professional career

Houston Rockets (2020–present)

On November 18, 2020, Martin was drafted by the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

with the 52nd overall pick in the

. On November 25, 2020, he was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations and a future second-round pick. Martin signed a four-year contract with the Rockets on November 30. The Rockets organization put him on their G League affiliate team, the

Rio Grande Valley Vipers The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Edinburg, Texas, and are affiliated with the Houston Rockets. The Vipers play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won fo ...

. Martin was activated by the Houston Rockets for the January 4, 2021, game against the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. The ...

, then was inactive for one game before making his on-court NBA debut on January 8, 2021, vs. the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was estab ...

, scoring 7 points on 3-3 shooting (including a three-pointer) On May 8, 2021, Martin scored a season career-high 27 points against the Utah Jazz. He had a then-career high 10 rebounds in three different games, all in May 2021. On November 25, 2022, Martin scored 21 points along with a career-high 15 rebounds in a 128–122 win against the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

. On March 22, 2023, Martin scored a season career-high with 31 points shooting 12-18 from the field In a 125-130 loss against the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

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Personal life

Martin is the son of

Kenyon Martin Kenyon Lee Martin Sr. (born December 30, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a power forward, he played for the New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets, Los ...

, who was selected first overall in the 2000 NBA draft and played in the NBA for 15 years, and Heather Martin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Kenyon Jr. 2001 births Living people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Los Angeles Houston Rockets players IMG Academy alumni Power forwards (basketball) Rio Grande Valley Vipers players Sacramento Kings draft picks Sierra Canyon School alumni 21st-century African-American sportspeople