New Knick Jaylen Martin missed about two months of the 2022-23 Overtime Elite season with a hamstring injury.
Before he got hurt, Martin established himself as one of the program’s best players.
“At the start of the year, Jaylen was at the top, (one of) the top three guys in OTE,” Martin’s coach, Tim Fanning, said. “Obviously, the Thompsons were up there. But I thought that he was really trending spectacularly upwards on both ends – on offense, on defense.”
Martin’s injury likely impacted his draft status. But Knicks fans should be encouraged by Fanning’s assessment. The aforementioned Thompsons – twins Amen and Ausar – were selected in the top five of the 2023 NBA Draft.
New York signed Martin after the draft to a two-way contract. You’d think that there was a wide gap between a top-five pick and an undrafted free agent. But based on Fanning’s assessment, you shouldn’t judge Martin by his status on draft night.
“He just ticks a lot of boxes in terms of what you want from a basketball player, especially on the wing,” Fanning said. “He was shooting the ball at a great clip from three. His defense and rebounding - his floor game – was spectacular. His transition, (attacking the) close out, also was on another level from the rest of the competition outside of the Thompsons in that first month of the season.”
Martin, 19, averaged 14 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Before the hamstring injury, Martin had 27 points, 14 rebounds and three assists in the YNG Dreamers’ win over the Falcons. Martin, a 6-6 wing, enters Summer League with the Knicks fully healthy. Fanning believes Martin will only get better in an NBA setting.
“He can play off the ball. He’s really good spacing the floor. He’s really good moving without the ball. He understands spaces more than the typical 19-year-old American player,” Fanning said. “I see this guy stepping on the court and potentially being a really exciting and productive piece to a team.”
The Knicks watched Martin extensively during his stint at OTE. Martin entered the OTE program after starring at Florida High, which was coached by former Knick Charlie Ward.
Fanning said Martin’s approach to the game was advanced for his age.
“I think every time he stepped in the building, he carried himself and had a mentality that this is something that I want. I want to play professional basketball. I want to play at the highest level,” Fanning said. “He was up there with the best of them in terms of his consistency with his work ethic, his consistency with his day-to-day emotional intelligence. The guy gets along with everybody. He has a great balance of being a great person and then when he steps on the court, he’s tough as nails. That’s a pro skill in my opinion.”
Martin earned OTE’s first Valedictorian distinction when he graduated from high school. He also took classes at Morehouse College, which is near the OTE facility in Atlanta.
“He’s a little bit of an outlier in his approach to things,” Fanning said. “He was a guy that was constantly hungry for watching film. He’s got a great head on his shoulders, he’s going to do everything possible to make that roster and come out there and fight his way for a spot. I have no doubt about that.”