Martin brings a winning pedigree to Raptors

The following is part of Raptors Republic’s series of pieces previewing the season for the Toronto Raptors. You can find all the pieces in the series here.

Alijah Martin, the 39th overall pick in the 2025 Draft, is a wildly athletic and defensive-minded guard who’s now in the fold with the Toronto Raptors.

When the 23-year-old actually gets into the fold with the big club remains to be seen, especially after the former national champion signed a two-way contract with Toronto shortly before Summer League. It signalled that Martin’s role might be primarily with the Raptors 905 in his rookie season, given that the Dinos’ roster has also gotten deeper with young talent over the past couple of seasons.

Wherever he plays, Martin brings a ton of game experience, having played five years of collegiate ball, with the first four coming at Florida Atlantic before he transferred to Florida for his final season.

Outside of his freshman year, when Martin was primarily a backup, he was shockingly consistent. In his final four years, Martin played in 141 Games, making 120 starts along the way, averaging nearly 14 points, over five rebounds, nearly two assists, and one and a half steals. Efficiency wise, he shot nearly 37 per cent from three (six attempts per game), over 44 per cent from the field, and over 76 per cent from the free throw line.

The Summit, Miss. native not only brings all that game experience, but also winning game experience. Over those final four years, his teams had an astounding 115-32 record, while helping lead the Owls to a Final Four appearance in 2023, before being a part of the national championship-winning Gators last season.

Martin also stood out athletically at the combine, posting a 38-inch max vertical jump and a 3.11 three-quarter court sprint, in which both numbers ranked 11th among all participants. 

Pair that winning pedigree with his athleticism, and Martin is a prime candidate to become a leader on the 905 and potentially push for NBA minutes.

Where Martin is going to make his hay and force himself into the big club’s rotation sooner rather than later will be on the defensive end, especially at the point of attack and in the pick-and-roll.

He’s an extremely physical, athletic, and tough defender who matches that with quick feet and strong hands, ultimately playing bigger than his height. Measuring in at just 6-foot-1 and a half, the sixth smallest at the combine, he makes up for it with a sturdy 208-pound build, and a wingspan six inches longer than his height at over 6-foot-7.

With Martin’s strength, quickness, and length, point of attack defence should be his calling card, something the Raptors surely could use more of, especially in ball screens. While guarding the ball handler in pick-and-roll at Florida, Martin held opponents to 25.3 per cent from the field (20-for-79), which was just 0.551 points per possession (89th percentile).

The guard overall eats up space, takes bumps in stride while navigating screens, and has a low centre of gravity, making it hard to go through his chest. He also brings strong communication and positioning to that side of the ball.

Seeing how effective he is at guarding the opposing team’s best ball handlers night in and night out at the G League level will be a big evaluation point, and is what is considered to be his NBA-level skill.

Now, his size does ultimately bring some limitations for him on the defensive end, as taller players should be able to shoot over the top of him, most bigs should be able to take advantage down low, and he doesn’t offer much in terms of rim protection.

Ultimately, however, Martin can be a part of a really good defence and should slide right into the culture and identity that was being built on that end of the floor in the latter parts of last season, while bringing that mentality and ability to the 905 as well.

The transition game is also where Martin can thrive north of the border. The Raptors like to get out and run, and the 23-year-old likes to do the same. He creates events defensively, overall turning defence into offence, before throwing down some ridiculous dunks in the open floor. At the rim, Martin was efficient last season with Florida, converting at a 54.8 per cent clip (57-for-104), for 1.214 points per possession (76th percentile).

The offensive side of the ball is where Martin will get the chance to grow the most in the G League, as more questions need to be answered offensively rather than on defence.

Martin’s transition game is a positive, but in the half-court, the guard needs to be able to shoot the ball, especially given his size and lack of on-ball creation (more on this in a little bit).

Fortunately, the second-round pick has proven he can shoot it at a respectable level. Throughout college, Martin took nearly 900 3-point attempts, hitting them at a 36.4 per cent clip (321-for-882). That’s more than translatable, and getting into Toronto’s development system, which has a track record of helping players shoot better, is only a plus. Off the catch, he hit 33.7 per cent of his long bombs at Florida (59-for-175), while for his career he’s been at about 36 per cent off the catch.

The Florida alum didn’t shoot much off the dribble, however, going 19-for-53 (35.8 per cent) from three and 11-for-22 (50 per cent) from inside the arc last season. Martin plays with great balance and hits the simple shots with volume and efficiency, but he isn’t an overly dynamic long-ball shooter and hasn’t shown a ton in creating his own looks.

And that’s really where the main concerns come for Martin, is that at his size, he is an off-ball player offensively and not a point guard. His handle just isn’t lively enough, whether it’s in the pick-and-roll or in the middle of the court. Martin also hasn’t shown the ability to make advanced reads as a passer, manipulate defenders, or showcase the court vision it takes to play point in the league.

He’s a fine ball handler, passer, and can make simple reads; however, off the ball is where he is most comfortable and effective. Evaluating what he can do in the minors with the offence more in his control will be intriguing to monitor, as playing in loaded back courts throughout college may have hurt him in this aspect, but it may mean there is some upside when he does get the opportunity.

It’s going to come down to the outside shot for Martin, though, as it’s massive for his offensive role. And while over a large sample, he’s been consistent, he can tend to be streaky.

At Florida, in his first five games, he shot just 27 per cent from three, then drilled eight long bombs against Southern Illinois in his next game, before hitting just 28 per cent from distance over the next seven games.

Then, in conference play, he made over 38 per cent from deep, before shooting under 32 per cent during the conference and NCAA tournaments. This is something that should be monitored moving forward, because at not even 6-foot-2, when the shot isn’t going and you’re not an elite ball handler and/or passer, it can get tricky.

Overall, Martin’s winning pedigree, experience, toughness, point-of-attack defence, transition game, and solid enough 3-point shooting make it easy to see why the Raptors were interested in him and how he can fit north of the border. It’s fair to say he will be with the 905 for a majority of the season, and it wouldn’t be shocking if he ended up being a leader for the squad. Though Toronto has a deep roster, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if he carved a role out for himself, because that’s just the type of guy he seems to be, a winner.

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