Caleb Martin, who was previously just a fringe playoff participant, has developed into one of Miami's most lethal soldier. Martin has earned serious consideration for Eastern Conference Finals Series Most Valuable Player because to his never-ending streak of outstanding performances and inhumane quality.
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Two years ago, he was released by the underperforming Charlotte Hornets because he was unable to get playing time with the team. Now, he is considered to be one of Miami's best chances to win the title despite the team's eighth-seeded position. How could anything like this happen?
Two Brothers, One Soul
The rise to basketball stardom of identical twins Caleb and Cody Martin can only be understood in the context of their shared experience. While attending college at their local institution, Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, they were recruited by Mark Gottfried at North Carolina.
It seemed like a dream come true, but Gottfried's dismissal in 2017 put a stop to it. The Martins kept their faith, though, and moved to Nevada to play under Eric Musselman. Here, they were able to increase their playing time and their chances of success.
Both of the twins played quite unique games. Caleb shot the ball more often and had more natural scoring ability, whereas Cody played better defense and had a more well-rounded game but lacked Caleb's moments of scoring brilliance.
The Miami Call
Caleb was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Charlotte Hornets in 2019, after they had already selected Cody Martin with the 36th overall choice in the NBA Draft. Both were sent to play for the G-League Hornets' affiliate, where they excelled.
The Heat quickly followed up by giving him a two-way deal. Caleb's explosion followed a brief return to the G-League, when he was forced to play out of necessity. In a victory against the Bucks on December 8, 2021, Caleb scored 28 points and added 8 rebounds. Caleb's future seemed secure when the Miami Marlins changed his two-way contract to a normal agreement.
The Explosion of 2023 Playoff
Martin is a short but very agile wing who doesn't have the ball-handling ability to play in the backcourt. But when you score as efficiently as Martin has been doing in the playoffs, none of that matters. It's like seeing a subpar player on NBA Jam absolutely stomp the competition.
Martin had a.566 field goal percentage, a.438 three-point percentage (better than Steph Curry or Klay Thompson), a.8 Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) rating, and a.704 true shooting % in the 2022-23 playoffs.
The Legacy
Caleb Martin combined the effectiveness he had developed in Miami with the shooting volume he had shown in Charlotte during the playoffs. This shouldn't work, but it did, making Martin the Heat's greatest wild card going into their matchup with the Nuggets.
He's on pace to have one of the greatest breakthrough performances in NBA history if he continues this run and Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo keep doing what they're doing.