Slater Nelson "Dugie" Martin Jr.[1] (October 22, 1925 – October 18, 2012) was an American professional basketball player and coach who was a playmaking guard for 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born in Elmina, Walker County, Texas and played in seven NBA All-Star Games.
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 22, 1925 Elmina, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | October 18, 2012 (aged 86) Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Listed weight | 170 lb (77 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Jefferson Davis (Houston, Texas) |
| College | Texas (1943–1944, 1946–1949) |
| BAA draft | 1949: 3rd round |
| Selected by the Minneapolis Lakers | |
| Playing career | 1949–1960 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Number | 22, 7 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1949–1956 | Minneapolis Lakers |
| 1956 | New York Knicks |
| 1956–1960 | St. Louis Hawks |
| As coach: | |
| 1957 | St. Louis Hawks |
| 1967–1969 | Houston Mavericks |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career statistics | |
| Points | 7,337 (9.8 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 2,302 (3.4 rpg) |
| Assists | 3,160 (4.2 apg) |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame | |
| Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Martin was one of the NBA's best defensive players in the 1950s, playing for the George Mikan-led Minneapolis Lakers that won four NBA championships between 1950 and 1954.[2] In 1956, he joined Bob Pettit's St. Louis Hawks and won another NBA title in 1958.[3]
Martin was an alumnus of Jefferson Davis High School in Houston, where he led his school to two state basketball championships in 1942 and 1943.[1] He is also a graduate of University of Texas at Austin, where he set a scoring record in 1949 with 49 points in a game for the Longhorns against Texas Christian University (or TCU).[3] Throughout his career with the Longhorns, he averaged 12.7 points per game.[4] His former high school now holds an annual fund raiser in his name, the "Slater Martin Golf Tournament", which successfully raises tens of thousands of dollars each year for high school student clubs and athletic teams.
He was head coach of the Houston Mavericks of the American Basketball Association in the 1967–68 season and part of 1968–69,[3] and led the Mavericks into the 1968 ABA Playoffs.
Martin was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on May 3, 1982, in Springfield, Massachusetts. He is the only Longhorn to be so honored. His jersey number 15 was retired by the University of Texas on January 31, 2009, making him only the second Longhorn basketball player to have his number retired.
He died of a brief illness on October 18, 2012, in Houston, Texas, aged 86.[3]
NBA career statistics
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| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| † | Won an NBA championship |
Regular season
edit| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949–50† | Minneapolis | 67 | – | .351 | .634 | – | 2.2 | 4.0 |
| 1950–51 | Minneapolis | 68 | – | .362 | .684 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 8.5 |
| 1951–52† | Minneapolis | 66 | 37.6 | .375 | .747 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 9.3 |
| 1952–53† | Minneapolis | 70 | 36.5 | .410 | .780 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 10.6 |
| 1953–54† | Minneapolis | 69 | 35.8 | .388 | .724 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 9.9 |
| 1954–55 | Minneapolis | 72 | 38.7 | .381 | .769 | 3.6 | 5.9 | 13.6 |
| 1955–56 | Minneapolis | 72 | 39.4 | .358 | .833 | 3.6 | 6.2 | 13.2 |
| 1956–57 | New York | 13 | 32.8 | .344 | .830 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 8.5 |
| 1956–57 | St. Louis | 53 | 37.3 | .330 | .782 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 11.5 |
| 1957–58† | St. Louis | 60 | 35.0 | .336 | .746 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 12.0 |
| 1958–59 | St. Louis | 71 | 35.3 | .347 | .776 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 9.7 |
| 1959–60 | St. Louis | 64 | 27.4 | .371 | .726 | 2.9 | 5.2 | 6.2 |
| Career | 745 | 35.9 | .364 | .762 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 9.8 | |
Playoffs
edit| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950† | Minneapolis | 12 | – | .420 | .583 | – | 2.1 | 4.7 |
| 1951 | Minneapolis | 7 | – | .353 | .519 | 6.0 | 3.6 | 7.1 |
| 1952† | Minneapolis | 13 | 40.2 | .345 | .732 | 2.8 | 4.3 | 9.0 |
| 1953† | Minneapolis | 12 | 37.8 | .398 | .765 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 10.1 |
| 1954† | Minneapolis | 13 | 41.0 | .330 | .743 | 2.2 | 4.6 | 9.7 |
| 1955 | Minneapolis | 7 | 45.0 | .298 | .816 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 13.7 |
| 1956 | Minneapolis | 3 | 40.3 | .459 | .833 | 2.3 | 5.0 | 18.0 |
| 1957 | St. Louis | 10 | 43.9 | .355 | .757 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 16.6 |
| 1958† | St. Louis | 11 | 37.8 | .321 | .619 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 11.5 |
| 1959 | St. Louis | 1 | 18.0 | .800 | – | 3.0 | 2.0 | 8.0 |
| 1960 | St. Louis | 3 | 19.3 | .077 | .250 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 1.0 |
| Career | 92 | 39.4 | .351 | .715 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 10.0 | |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Slater Martin Player Statistics
- ^ "Passings: Slater Martin", Los Angeles Times, October 19, 2012
- ^ a b c d Goldstein, Richard (October 20, 2012), "Slater Martin, Hall of Fame Lakers Guard, Dies at 86", The New York Times
- ^ "SR / College Basketball: Slater Martin". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
External links
edit
- Slater Martin at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
- NBA.com profile
- Slater Martin player statistics at Basketball-Reference.com
- Slater Martin coach statistics at Basketball-Reference.com