In an ad in his local paper, the Zanesville Times Recorder, Kevin Martin announced that his 12-year NBA career is over. Martin, who played for the Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs last season, wrote that he has known since June that he would not play another game in the league.
An excerpt:
Thank you, thank you, thank you. There's not a more perfect day for me to express those feelings. There are so many ways to announce your after professional career plans. My family and close friends have known since June of the direction I wanted my life to go. Those were the toughest conversations that I have ever had but with the ultimate support I knew I was making the right decision. [...]
To my community, I think the way I have always wanted to do it was on a personal level with the place that has always been there for me as I started this journey as a 18 year old kid. That place is Zanesville, OH! It was always about you! Special is just the start to describe you guys as part of my journey from day 1. Honestly, there isn't enough pages or enough days in a year for me to name everyone that has had a positive impact in my life. Every little kid that loves basketball dreams about playing in the same league as Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant, but I know it's the hope that others give that can only make that dream a reality.
Martin, 33, will be remembered best for his efficient scoring -- thanks to his uncanny ability to draw fouls inside and on the perimeter, the guard became a darling for the advanced stats community as a member of the Sacramento Kings, for whom he averaged a career-high 24.6 points with a 60.1 percent true shooting percentage in 2008-09. It was no surprise, then, that the analytics-driven Houston Rockets front office acquired Martin at the 2010 trade deadline and coach Rick Adelman, the same person who had given him a chance with the Kings, made him an offensive focal point.
While Martin never made an All-Star team, he was that caliber of player for a few years in Sacramento and Houston. The Rockets sent him to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the James Harden trade before the 2012-13 season, where he served as a sixth man for a season before reuniting with Adelman with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Adelman retired the following year, though, and the Wolves went into rebuilding mode. Minnesota waived Martin last March so he could sign with a title contender, but he found himself out of the rotation when the Thunder upset the Spurs in the playoffs.
Martin, who was drafted No. 26 overall out of Western Carolina in 2004, retires with career averages of 17.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists, and a true shooting percentage of 58.5 percent.
