Damian Martin

For the Australian cricketer, see Damien Martyn.

Damian Martin

No. 53 – Perth Wildcats
Position	Point guard
League	NBL
Personal information
Born	(1984-09-05) 5 September 1984 Gloucester, New South Wales
Nationality	Australian
Listed height	186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Listed weight	92 kg (203 lb)
Career information
High school	Gloucester (Gloucester, New South Wales) Lake Ginninderra (Canberra, ACT)
College	Loyola Marymount (2003–2007)
Playing career	2007–present
Career history
2007–2009	West Sydney Razorbacks/Sydney Spirit
2009–present	Perth Wildcats
Career highlights and awards
2× NBL champion (2010, 2014) 5× NBL Best Defensive Player (2011–2015) All-NBL First Team (2011) 2× All-NBL Second Team (2013, 2014) All-NBL Third Team (2012) WCC All-Freshman Team (2004)

Damian Patrick Martin (born 5 September 1984) is an Australian professional basketball player who currently plays for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for Loyola Marymount University and has represented Australia in international competition. The five-time NBL Best Defensive Player is poised to be ranked amongst the best NBL defenders of all-time.

Junior career

Martin was a prolific player on the Australian national junior team and an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder in 2002. He was captain of the Australian team that won the gold medal at the 2003 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, the first in the country's history.

Martin played NCAA Division I basketball for Loyola Marymount University where he was a key contributor for the Lions. After a successful freshman and sophomore season, he was forced to redshirt the 2005–06 due to a ruptured Achilles tendon while playing with the national team. He returned for the Lions in 2006–07 but left the program in 2007 to return to Australia. In his three seasons for LMU, he played 88 games (69 starts) while averaging 4.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and was a West Coast Conference All-Freshmen team honouree in 2003–04.

Professional career

Following his college career, Martin signed with the West Sydney Razorbacks of the National Basketball League. He played the first 10 games of the 2007–08 season before a knee injury suffered in November 2007 ended his rookie season. He returned to lead the league in steals with 1.9 per game in the 2008–09 season and went on to play for Australia for the first time at the 2009 FIBA Oceania Championship.

In July 2009, Martin signed with the Perth Wildcats and went on to help them win their fifth championship in 2009–10. He was again named in the Boomers' squad for the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2011 FIBA Oceania Championship.

On 24 March 2013, Martin made history by being named the NBL's Best Defensive Player of the Year for the third straight season. He became just the third player in NBL history to win the award in three consecutive seasons, and the first since 2001. On 1 April 2013, he was ruled out of the 2013 NBL grand final series against the New Zealand Breakers with a partial tear of his Achilles tendon. He suffered the injury in the Wildcats' 85–81 win over the Wollongong Hawks, which booked the 'Cats a spot in the grand final.

On 9 October 2013, Martin was named the sole captain of the Perth Wildcats for the 2013–14 season. On 2 April 2014, he was named the NBL's Best Defensive Player of the Year for the fourth straight season, becoming the first player in NBL history to win the award four seasons in a row. He went on to lead the Wildcats to their sixth NBL championship, defeating the Adelaide 36ers 2 games to 1 in the 2014 NBL grand final series.

On 14 May 2014, Martin re-signed with the Wildcats on a two-year deal (with the option of a third). On 24 October 2014, he recorded nine steals in the Wildcats' 84–63 win over the Sydney Kings, the second most by a Perth Wildcat in the club’s history; Ricky Grace recorded 10 in 1990. He was subsequently named round three's player of the week for his efforts. On 31 December 2014, Martin played his 200th NBL game in a 86–77 win over the Wollongong Hawks. In just under 34 minutes of action, he recorded a then season-high 17 points, along with 4 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals. He went on to record a season-high 19 points, along with 8 rebounds, 6 steals and 3 assists, in a loss to the New Zealand Breakers on 29 January 2015. After bowing out of the semi-finals to the Cairns Taipans in straight sets, Martin was named the NBL's Best Defensive Player for the fifth year in a row, further building his reputation as one of the NBL's all-time best defenders.

On 5 November 2015, Martin was ruled out for three months after suffering a broken jaw and missing teeth after an elbow from Townsville Crocodiles forward Brian Conklin the previous night. The Wildcats were defeated by the Crocodiles 89–77, with the game overshadowed by the brutal incident, which happened with just a minute remaining in the game and led to a war of words between the teams. Despite been ruled out for three months, Martin's surgery and recovery went better than expected, and he was deemed fit to play in the team's 27 November match against the New Zealand Breakers.

Personal

Martin is the son of Anne and Raymond Martin, and has three brothers, Daniel, John and Anthony, and one sister, Beth. On 17 June 2014, Martin got engaged to long-time girlfriend, Brittany Morgan. The couple later married on 3 April 2015 in Sydney. His wife's cousin is rugby league player Michael Morgan.

External links

• Perth Wildcats player profile
• R13 Preview: Martin's 200th falls into place nicely

Awards
Preceded by Damian Martin	NBL Best Defensive Player 2015	Succeeded by Incumbent