Retired NBA star Kenyon Martin will be the first to tell that he wasn't as skilled as the big men that he battled in the NBA during the 2000s. He never had Tim Duncan's sublime footwork, Chris Webber's remarkable passing skills, or Dirk Nowitzki's sweet jumper. However, nobody can ever say they outworked or outhustled the native of Saginaw, Michigan.
After all, hard work was the foundation on which he built his game. According to K-Mart, he never bothered to incorporate nuances into his game. Instead, he relied on a single-minded approach during his playing days, as he had been told to do long before he reached the big leagues.
Kenyon possessed elite athleticism, a powerful frame and the kind of physical edge that made every matchup uncomfortable. While it would have been better for him to develop his game further, he stubbornly stuck with what had gotten him recognized in the basketball world in the first place.
"Dunk s–t, fight s–t, block s–t. That's high school, college, dog. That's how I got there," Martin declared .
By there, Martin meant the prestigious ABCD Camp, the invite-only showcase of the best high school players in the country that many used to earn full rides to elite NCAA Division 1 schools or the NBA. He recalled arriving and not even knowing his rank.
"Dog, when I got to ABCD, they in that s–t talking about rankings, and I'm like, 'Rank who? Where? Ranking who's this dude? Like, why everybody following him around?' It was Kobe," Martin shared. "Like, why everybody following him around? Why he special?"
"Like, this is dead a-s, man. Like, them dudes went to the league in 1996, man, the year we graduated high school. All us graduated '96 together. They did four years in the league. I did four years at Cincinnati," he added.
K-Mart's high school class was a who's who of basketball royalty, led by Kobe, who went straight to the pros after a legendary career at Lower Merion High. Other notable names in that class included Tim Thomas, Shaneen Holloway, and Lester Earl.
As for Martin? He narrated that he traveled by bus to the camp at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey, for 20 hours. When it ended, he had played so well that he went home riding a plane.
Some may call Kenyon stubborn. Others may have described him as hard-headed. But for K-Mart, he called it sticking to what he knew best. And what he knew best was to be the hardest-working player on any basketball court.
"Just don't deviate, man. Like, it was never built on skill," Martin said. "Throw the ball up. That used to be my thing. Throw the ball up, dog. I'mma beat you to it. Throw it up. I'mma go get it. It's on the floor, I'mma go get it. Like, you ain't going to play harder than me."
"You're not. It's just what it is. You going to know you was in the basketball game, dog. Listen. And then let's keep it on the line. Let's hoop. That's hoop. I want to hoop. I want to play basketball."
Kenyon wasn't exceptionally skilled at hooping. But he had a motor unlike any other and a burning desire to beat his foe in every game. For him, that was more than enough to help him carve out a 14-year career in the best basketball league in the world.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Sep 18, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
