A while back, I was fortunate enough to gain a helpful layer of perspective on rookie Alijah Martin's game and character, courtesy of Benjamin Henderson, Site Expert for FanSided's Florida Gators site, Hail Florida Hail (read it here).
But the recent Summer League served as a great platform to see how Martin's game could translate at the next level, aside from his championship and consistently competitive pedigree in the collegiate ranks.
It wasn't a perfect campaign for Martin in Vegas; in fact, if you merely look at the statistics he posted on paper, you might be inclined to think he's a dud. In five Summer League appearances, Martin averaged the following numbers: 8.8 points on 35.9% field goal shooting, a tough 23.5% from three, 3.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.6 steals, in just over 18 minutes of playing time per game.
But a true basketball savant should know that the game is more than just what you can provide in terms of the box score. Often, it's the intangibles ... like that hunger and toughness to give it your all on the court, and helping the team in any way possible (whether defensively, offensively, or simply by being a selfless teammate). And if we're talking about that style of play or archetype, Alijah Martin is a testament to that through and through.
Alijah Martin brings an element of pressure to Raptors' backcourt
In my last piece, I highlighted some recent takeaways from Sam Vecenie and Bryce Simon of the Game Theory Podcast. In their Summer League-focused episode, they also commented on Martin's performance and his potential for the Raptors:
"Yeah, Alijah Martin had a couple of moments I thought where he looked pretty impressive. Had that crazy dunk, like, he looked good defensively. Averaged nine points, just wasn't efficient in any way, shape, or form. "Sam Vecenie, July 22, 2025
"... He's physically, like, the dude is strong. Again, he kinda fits the style of what they've acquired here with their non-kind of starter stars, in terms of get after it defensively and you know athletic and all of that. "Bryce Simon
"... My biggest takeaway of Summer League is that I think we're going to see a lot more pressure in the regular season in the backcourt. These teams that have these guys that can come off the bench, like Alijah Martin, Jamal Shead, players like that. I wonder if we see them play a little bit more than what we're expecting maybe. I'm not saying they're regular rotation players, but you know, 500 to 700 minutes just to like get them going. You know what I mean?"Sam Vecenie
It might have seemed like Toronto simply added another Jamal Shead-like player in Martin, but as Vecenie mentioned, there is definitely an effective way for the Raptors to deploy both of those guards in the backcourt, which can dramatically shift the game in their favor. Just look at how close Toronto came in the semi-final Summer League matchup with Sacramento; having pests in the backcourt made the Kings' path to victory much tougher than they expected.
As Vecenie and Simon highlighted, I’m not saying Martin will be an out-of-this-world game-changer, but even in a limited role within a gritty backcourt, he could establish a key role early in his Raptors journey and beyond.