ORLANDO, Fla. — Philadelphia 76ers forward KJ Martin began his career as the 52nd pick of the 2020 NBA draft. Coming out of IMG Academy, Martin was selected by the Sacramento Kings before being dealt to the Houston Rockets.
In three seasons with the Rockets, Martin averaged 10.5 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 54.5% from the floor and 34% from deep. Houston, in the middle of a rebuild, allowed him to be himself and gave him the necessary court time to develop.
Now with the Sixers, Martin is excited to go back to Houston on Friday and see all of the important people from the early stages of his NBA career.
“Going back, I’m super excited,” Martin said with a smile. “I get to go back and see you’re old teammates. Obviously, some of the media people, video people, weight coaches, and staff, and go back to a place where I spent three years and play against a team that gave me a chance.”
The Rockets look different now. They are led by veterans Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks as well as a new coach in Ime Udoka. However, a number of players from Martin’s days still there. He still keeps in contact with everybody with the Rockets.
“Yeah. I talk to them all the time,” he beamed. “Whenever they play, I try to watch their games if we’re not playing so I stay tuned in.”
The Rockets have been criticized in the past for what some people would describe as “not doing things the right way.” Houston lost a lot of games and they had a 20-game losing streak in Martin’s rookie season. However, there were some great development moments for Martin.
“A lot of people put out that our team that — because we were losing every game, we weren’t learning anything,” Martin scoffed. “Like we just played the wrong way and this and that. Me? I took every game seriously. Whatever the game plan was, I stuck to the game plan, and I played the right way every game and for my first three seasons, I just tried to build on it game by game, season by season, to become a better player.”
The city of Houston will always be important to Martin. It’s a second home for him, and the Rockets allowed him to turn his NBA dreams into reality.
“Yeah, for sure,” Martin added. “My three years there, obviously, we didn’t have the best seasons, but I went out there and competed and I put on for the city and gave the fans a show. Houston always got a spot in my heart for sure.”
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