Slater Nelson "Dugie" Martin Jr.
/ref> (October 22, 1925 – October 18, 2012) was an American

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

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 (appro ...

player and coach who was a playmaking

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A seven-time

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Traditionally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...

, he won five championships.

Early life

He was born in Elmina, Walker County, Texas. 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.
/sup> He is also a graduate of

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

, where he set a scoring record in 1949 with 49 points in a game for the Longhorns against Texas Christian University (or TCU). Throughout his career with the Longhorns, he averaged 12.7 points per game. 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.

Playing career

Martin was one of the NBA's best defensive players in the 1950s, playing for the

George Mikan George Lawrence Mikan Jr. (; June 18, 1924 – June 1, 2005), nicknamed "Mr. Basketball", was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Minneapolis Lakers of ...

-led

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, having played and won championships in both the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball League (NBL) and the Basketball Association of America (BAA) prior to ...

that won four NBA championships between 1950 and 1954. In 1956, he joined

Bob Pettit Robert E. Lee Pettit Jr. ( ; born December 12, 1932) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association, NBA, all with the Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks (1954–1965). In ...

St. Louis Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at S ...

and won another NBA title in 1958. He was head coach of the

Houston Mavericks The Houston Mavericks were a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA). They played in the upstart league's first two seasons, from 1967–68 ABA season, 1967 to 1968–69 ABA season, 1969. Their home arena was the Sam Houston Co ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

in the 1967–68 season and part of 1968–69, and led the Mavericks into the 1968 ABA Playoffs. Martin was inducted into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

on May 3, 1982, in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

. 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 Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Texas, aged 86.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

*
NBA.com profile

at Basketball-Reference.com

at Basketball-Reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Slater 1925 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Texas Basketball players from Houston Basketball player-coaches Houston Mavericks coaches Minneapolis Lakers players Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees NBA All-Stars New York Knicks players People from Walker County, Texas Point guards St. Louis Hawks head coaches St. Louis Hawks players Texas Longhorns men's basketball players Northside High School (Houston) alumni