Damian Martin

Damian Patrick Martin (born 5 September 1984) is an Australian former professional basketball player. He played four years of college basketball in the United States for the Loyola Marymount Lions before playing 13 years in the National Basketball League (NBL). After two seasons with the West Sydney Razorbacks / Sydney Spirit, he joined the Perth Wildcats in 2009 and won six NBL championships in 11 seasons. He also won the NBL Best Defensive Player Award six times, leading to the league naming the trophy after him upon his retirement.

Martin was born in Gloucester, New South Wales. He attended Gloucester High School, where he initially played rugby league.

As a 15-year-old at the NSW Institute of Sport, Martin was encouraged by Rob Beveridge to concentrate on basketball. He later moved to Canberra to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and Lake Ginninderra Secondary College.

In 2002 and 2003, Martin played for the AIS in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL). He subsequently went on to play for the Australian national junior team at the 2003 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, where he won a gold medal.

Between 2003 and 2007, Martin played college basketball in the United States for the Loyola Marymount Lions. As a freshman in 2003–04, he was earned WCC All-Freshman Team honours. An Achilles tendon injury saw him miss the entire 2005–06 season. He returned to the team for the 2006–07 season and was the WCC Defensive Player of the Year. Martin was eligible for a fifth season in 2007–08 but elected to pursue a professional career. In three seasons, he played 88 games with 69 starts and averaged 4.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

Martin began his professional career with the West Sydney Razorbacks of the National Basketball League, but suffered a season-ending knee injury ten games into the 2007–08 NBL season.

Following the Sydney Kings' withdrawal from the NBL, the Razorbacks re-branded as the Sydney Spirit for the 2008–09 season. Martin subsequently returned to the franchise for a second season. The Spirit quickly fell into financial difficulty and were saved from collapse mid season thanks to a rescue package from the NBL. The players and coaches all took significant pay cuts, with the entire team agreeing to live off just $150,000 between them to keep the franchise going—roughly $700 per week for Martin. Furthermore, Martin played much of the season with a broken wrist.

In the 2009 off-season, Martin played for the Parramatta Wildcats in the Waratah League.