The Toronto Raptors will open NBA Summer League action Friday, July 10 (9 p.m. EST) against the Boston Celtics. This year's squad is headlined by Collin Murray-Boyles, who's coming off an incredible rookie campaign and a strong playoff run. The expectation with CMB is that his time in Las Vegas will be short, and after one or two games, he’ll head back to Toronto.
Someone who isn’t expected to have that luxury is Murray-Boyles' fellow 2025 draft classmate Alijah Martin.
Martin didn’t have a spectacular first NBA season, but showed flashes and looked like a true culture fit for head coach Darko Rajakovic’s team. He also clearly has the backing of the Raptors coaching staff, as his debut came against the Celtics in the fourth quarter of a six-point game.
Being in Vegas is a great opportunity for the former national champion to take a step towards a sophomore-season breakout.
Martin’s first NBA season saw him appear in only 22 games and average 6.3 minutes per game, spending the majority of his season in the G League with the 905. While his NBA stats don’t look great, his G League ones are really encouraging.
In his 40 appearances for the 905, Martin averaged 18.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 39.6 percent from three, according to Real GM. If Martin can post similar numbers in Vegas, his path to becoming a staple in the Raptors' regular-season rotation will be way more viable.
Alijah Martin's next step starts in Vegas
Martin already has the toughness, defensive capabilities, and ability to shift the energy of the game with a thunderous fastbreak dunk to be part of the Raptors bench mob.
All he needs now is the numbers. During the last regular season, Martin shot below 20 percent from three and below 35 percent from the field, and those splits make anyone unplayable, no matter their defensive energy or effort. It matters even more when you’re playing for a Raptors team that struggles enough as it is to create and score from the perimeter.
Obviously, context matters. When you’re playing under seven minutes a game, the value of each shot is much higher, and percentages can fluctuate more easily. But at the end of the day, being more efficient at the NBA level should be Martin's No. 1 priority.
History suggests Martin will be able to find his stroke, as over his five years in college, he was a career 36.4 percent three-point shooter on 5.4 attempts per game. He may just need a confidence boost to rediscover that part of his game, and summer league is the perfect place to do so. As I mentioned, he should be one of the focal points of this year's group, and with that will come more touches and a much longer leash than the one we saw him have with the Raptors last season.
With the Raptors reacquiring Kawhi Leonard and having championship aspirations, they will need every bit of depth they can get. The Raptors drafted him at No. 39 in 2025 because he showed he could be a valuable piece on a winning team, as he did at both Florida and Florida Atlantic. The defense is already there—the mentality and energy are, too, so if he can show off a sharpened offensive game, there’s no reason he can’t be an everyday player for the Raptors next season.
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