Florida Gators guard Alijah Martin was selected in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft with the 39th overall pick by the Toronto Raptors. Martin’s selection marks the second Gator drafted in 2025 and the fourth since 2013.
“Just ready to get to the next level and show what I can do,” Martin said at the NBA Draft.
Martin averaged 14.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game in his lone season with the Gators. The 6’2, 210-pound guard served as the team leader for a Florida squad that crowned the programs third National Championship in 2024-25. Despite just one season in Orange and Blue, Martin ranks among Florida’s transfer career leaders with 56 steals (seventh), 79 3-point field goals (eighth) and 546 points (10th). His 546 points rank 17th in Florida history in a single season and the third-most by a transfer.
“He’s really important to us,” Golden said on Martin before the start of the 2024-25 season. “He’ll be the guy that primarily picks up the ball and guards the ball. He’s got great, quick feet. He’s strong, can keep a guy in front, can really operate getting over a ball screen defensively.”
While undersized standing at 6’2, 210 pounds, Martin is a dynamic and versatile defender that was often times tasked with guarding opposing teams most effective scorer. Martin is an explosive athlete that excels at finishing through contact around the rim.
There are legitimate questions about his offensive game, but Alijah Martin is a winner. The Mississippi native was the first college basketball player to start for two different teams in the Final Four, previously accomplishing the feat with FAU in 2023 where he was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team. Against Auburn in this year’s final four, Martin scored 17 points on 6-10 shooting including 2-3 from three-point range.
Florida head coach Todd Golden believes that Alijah Martin and Will Richard will find their way onto NBA rosters.
“I’m incredibly confident that both will be on NBA rosters,” Golden said. “Whether that’s a two-way [contract], those guys, Will and Alijah, have done enough in those workouts where we’re getting incredible reviews. Guys are really happy in what they see. So I think both of those guys will end up in great situations after next week.”