Luke Martin (born 22 January 1981) is an Australian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who spent the majority of his career playing in the National Basketball League (NBL). In 2004 and 2005, he represented the Australian national team.

Early life

Born and raised in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

to a Kiwi father and an Australian mother, Martin moved to the United States in 1998, where he attended St. John's College High School in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

before playing one season of

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

UTEP Miners The UTEP Miners is the name given to the sports teams of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). They are informally referred to as the Miners, UTEP, or Texas–El Paso. UTEP was a member of the Western Athletic Conference from 1967 to 2005, ...

in 2001–02. In 23 games for the Miners, he averaged 2.9 points and 1.6 assists per game.

Professional career

ANBL

Martin returned to Australia in 2002 and joined the

West Sydney Razorbacks The West Sydney Razorbacks (known in its final season as the Sydney Spirit) were an Australian professional basketball team that competed in the National Basketball League (NBL). The club was based in Sydney, New South Wales. They were the s ...

for the 2002–03 season. After just one season with the Razorbacks, he moved across town and joined the

Sydney Kings The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The Kings were formed from a merger between the West Sydney Westars and the ...

. He went on to win two championships with the Kings in his first two seasons before injury struck him down for the 2005–06 season. He missed much of the season with a broken foot he suffered while playing for the Australian Boomers in a tour to China. Martin joined the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Conventio ...

for the 2006–07 season before moving to Melbourne and signing with the

South Dragons The South Dragons were an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). They made their debut in the 2006/07 season and played their final season in 2008/09. The club was based at MSAC in Melbourne's in ...

for the 2007–08 season. Martin then moved back to Sydney and signed with the

Sydney Spirit The West Sydney Razorbacks (known in its final season as the Sydney Spirit) were an Australian professional basketball team that competed in the National Basketball League (NBL). The club was based in Sydney, New South Wales. They were the s ...

for the 2008–09 season. In January 2010, Martin signed with the

Wollongong Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) is an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games ...

, where he spent the rest of the 2009–10 season as an injury replacement for

Tywain McKee Tywain "Ty" McKee (born March 7, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for BC Borisfen of the Belarusian Premier League. He played college basketball for Coppin State University, where he was named the MEAC Player of the Year in 20 ...

. For their return season to the NBL, Martin joined the resurrected Sydney Kings for the 2010–11 season. He spent three seasons with the Kings. On 16 January 2015, Martin signed with the

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at RAC Arena, known colloquially as "The Jungle". Afte ...

as an injury replacement for

Earnest Ross Earnest Lee Ross Jr. (born January 27, 1991) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Toyoda Gosei Scorpions of the Japanese B.League. Born in the U.S. territory of Guam, he represented the Guam national team for the fi ...

. On 7 March 2015, he was released by the Wildcats following the club's lacklustre season and a subsequent overhaul of personnel.

NZNBL

Martin began playing in the New Zealand National Basketball League in 2004 for the

Manawatu Jets The Manawatu Jets are a New Zealand basketball team based in Palmerston North. The Jets compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Central Energy Trust Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Pro ...

. He then played three seasons for the Waikato Titans/Pistons from 2005 to 2007, before playing two seasons for the

Wellington Saints The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand basketball team based in Wellington. The Saints compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Bank Arena. Team history The Wellington Saints were founded in 1981. In 1 ...

in 2008 and 2009. Following the 2009 NZNBL season, he joined the Parramatta Wildcats and helped the team win the

Waratah League The NBL1 East, formerly the Waratah League, is a semi-professional basketball league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2021, Basketball New South Wales and the National B ...

Championship while earning Grand Final MVP honours. In December 2009, Martin signed with the newly established

Southland Sharks The Southland Sharks are a New Zealand basketball team based in Invercargill. The Sharks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Stadium Southland. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the SBS Bank So ...

for the 2010 season. After one season with the Sharks, he joined the

Auckland Pirates The Auckland Pirates were a New Zealand basketball team based in Auckland. The Pirates competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at ASB Stadium. Team history In March 2011, the franchise was unveiled by Baske ...

for the 2011 season. After not playing in New Zealand in 2012, Martin returned to the Southland Sharks for the 2013 season. In December 2013, he re-signed with the Sharks for the 2014 season.

SEABL

In March 2015, Martin joined the Brisbane Spartans for the 2015

SEABL The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was an Australian semi-professional basketball league. The league comprised both a men's and women's competition and was run by the country's governing body, Basketball Australia. The league wa ...

season. Due to the Lindt cafe incident, Martin was stood down by the Spartans. In 10 games for Brisbane, he averaged 8.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.

Personal

On 3 June 2015, Martin was denied bail over allegedly throwing rocks through the windows of Sydney's Lindt cafe in

Martin Place Martin Place is a pedestrian mall in the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. Martin Place has been described as the "civic heart" of Sydney.

, and breaking a police officer's jaw during the subsequent arrest. He was also observed driving erratically in Sydney CBD. He was later admitted to a mental health facility.Lindt cafe vandalism: Lawyer applies for former NBL star Luke Martin to be transferred to mental health facility
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References

External links

Australiabasket.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Luke 1981 births Living people Auckland Pirates players Australian men's basketball players Cairns Taipans players Perth Wildcats players Point guards South Dragons players Southland Sharks players Sydney Kings players UTEP Miners men's basketball players Waikato Pistons players Waikato Titans players Wollongong Hawks players