KJ Martin stays ready, looks to show Sixers he deserves more time
ORLANDO, Fla. — Every player in the NBA wants to get on the court and show what they can do. It’s that competitive drive and competitive spirit that fuels any athlete.
For Philadelphia 76ers forward KJ Martin, this season has been a bit different than past seasons.
Martin spent the first three seasons of his career with the Houston Rockets. He played in 206 games with 59 starts and averaged 24.3 minutes per game. He was a part of a young core in Houston before he was sent to the Los Angeles Clippers in the offseason. He was traded to the Sixers in the James Harden deal, and he has had to grind to earn minutes on a veteran-laden team.
Martin is continuing to stay ready for the next opportunity. He’s getting more comfortable as time goes by with the Sixers.
“It took me a while to get comfortable and learning all the schemes and stuff like that because just being traded quick into the season, going through training camp with the Clippers, and then coming here and obviously, not having a training camp and just trying to kinda have to learn stuff on the fly,” Martin said. “It’s been good. I’ve been watching film and stuff like that of previous games that we’ve played. I’ll just watch that just to see where guys are at and see what spots guys like to get to.”
With the work Martin is putting in, he hopes it will lead him to more playing time with the Sixers. He is a physical player who can put the ball on the floor, shoot it well, make plays defensively and give Philadelphia a boost when needed.
“I’m a professional at the end of the day,” Martin said. “This is my fourth year. I played 200-plus games. I played 30 minutes a game last season, so I understand what it takes just every day to stay consistent and stuff like that. Every day I come in, do what I’m supposed to do, work on my body, and be ready for anything.”
He can make plays with the basketball in his hands, and that is a valuable skill in today’s NBA. It’s why he averaged 28 minutes per game for Houston in the 2022-23 season, and why he’s locked in to helpe the Sixers.
“Just whenever my number’s called, I’m gonna be ready,” he finished. “I just come in, compete, obviously against the starters and stuff. Make it hard for them so when they get in the game, it’s not a big surprise so I just go in and compete and whenever my opportunity and my number is called, I’ll be ready.”
