Kenyon Martin, the NBA’s No. 1 draft pick in 2000 who spent nearly half of his career with the Denver Nuggets after being acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Nets in 2004, announced on Thursday that he was retiring from professional basketball after 15 years.
“Thanks for the Love. On to the Next” the 37-year-old former power forward tweeted.
His retirement — — comes almost 11 years after he was acquired from the then New Jersey Nets in a sign-and-trade deal that gave him a seven-year, $92.5 million contract. In return for Martin, the Nets received the Nuggets’ 2006 first-round pick and first-round picks Denver had acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers.
Martin was . Throughout the 371 games he played for Denver, he struggled with injuries, famously undergoing microfracture surgery on both knees and returning from them. He scored 4,553 points, had 385 blocks, 442 steals and 690 assists while with the Nuggets. His best season for Denver was in 2004-05, when he played 70 games, averaged 15.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.
Martin after the Nuggets , despite expressing a desire to finish his career in Denver. He played in China while the NBA was locked out during the start of the next season.
After returning from abroad, he signed with the Clippers before finishing out his two final full seasons with the New York Knicks. Last season, he spent a little more than a month with the Milwaukee Bucks before they waived him in February.
Martin was the No. 1 pick in the 2000 NBA draft after playing for the University of Cincinnati, despite having broken his leg while a senior. He was a 2001 first-team all-rookie pick and was an all-star in 2004. He went to the NBA Finals with the Nets in 2002 and 2003.
He finished his career averaging 12.3 points and 6.8 rebounds a game.
Daniel Petty: 303-954-1081, dpetty@denverpost.com or twitter.com/danielpetty
