With the 39th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Toronto Raptors selected Alijah Martin, a tough defender and proven collegiate vet who had become synonymous with winning basketball — thanks to his successful title run with the Florida Gators and an earlier stint with Florida Atlantic University (or FAU).
Despite Martin's winning ways, looking at him on paper presents an undersized guard who does not stand out as a strong playmaker and is an older prospect at 23 years old. Given those concerns, some Raptors fans were less than pleased with the selection.
To help diminish some of the doubt in Martin's game, I reached out to FanSided's dedicated Florida Gators site, Hail Florida Hail, to find out more about the newest addition to Toronto's crop of young talent.
Raptors Rapture: What are Alijah Martin's strengths?
Benjamin Henderson: He is an outright dog on the court who isn't interested in making friends with the opponents or necessarily his own teammates.
But beyond some leadership qualities we'll talk about in a moment, he had some legit bounce to his game despite being 6'2." One of the most iconic moments of Florida's season, and a shirt I now personally own, was in the Final Four when he took off from the free throw line for a dunk and then followed that up by posterizing half of Auburn's team.
He's also not a bad shooter and shot 35% from three, which is better than a number of first-round picks this season.
RR: What are Alijah Martin's weaknesses?
Benjamin Henderson: Turnovers and passing. He wasn't Florida's primary ball handler as that job went to Walter Clayton Jr., but he still had 1.4 turnovers per game against just 2.2 assists per game.
Add in that he is 6'2" and there are some fair concerns about how his game is going to translate to the next level.
RR: How exactly did Alijah Martin impact winning for Florida? (and even his time at FAU — if ever you can chime in on that)
Benjamin Henderson: Martin only spent one year in Florida, and even though he stepped into a locker room as the new guy, he instantly stepped up as the leader.
Florida ran this in-season documentary on YouTube, and they were talking to all the players. Most guys on the team had this attitude of "Man, we sure are having a great season."
But when they would talk to Martin, he always had this vibe of "What do you mean we are having a great season? The job isn't finished yet."
I didn't get to follow the FAU team closely, but you could definitely tell during the NCAA Tournament when things would go south for Florida that Martin was the one to get things back on track, in part because of his FAU experience.
RR: Alijah Martin is a bit on the older side as a prospect, does that limit what he's capable of achieving at the next level?
Benjamin Henderson: Like any five-year college guy, Martin is at the age when a one-and-done guy is already looking for his second contract.
It does impact what his ceiling is going to look like simply because there is more data on him compared to an 18 or 19-year-old but also keep in mind that the way NIL works now in college basketball, there is more incentive for a second-round guy to stay in school compared to jumping to the NBA.
RR: What is a realistic expectation for Raptors fans to set, and drawing off that, what could be the peak or highest possible outcome of Martin's contributions in his Raptors tenure?
Benjamin Henderson: I get that his size is going to be the primary concern, but he is a capable on-ball defender who can shoot 35% or better from three.So, he might not morph into the next Alex Caruso because of his size, but I think he absolutely can carve out a role as a 20-minute-a-night player capable of 10+ points nightly.
And let's be real, for a second-round draft pick at No. 39, that's pretty good value in the NBA.
For the flip side of this conversation between myself and Hail Florida Hail's Site Expert, Benjamin Henderson, I encourage you to check out the Q&A piece posted on their site. I answered all of a curious Florida fanatic's questions about Martin joining the Raptors.