Kenyon Martin
A number one draft pick whose ferocious dunks and defensive tenacity powered the New Jersey Nets to back-to-back NBA Finals.
Born 1977 (age 49)·American basketball player·Birthday: December 30·Generation X
Biography
Kenyon Martin announced himself to the basketball world with a thunderous style of play that was impossible to ignore. At the University of Cincinnati, he transformed from a raw athlete into the national player of the year, a shot-blocking force who dominated the paint. Selected first overall in 2000, he became the defensive anchor and emotional engine for a New Jersey Nets team that rose from obscurity to consecutive NBA Finals appearances. His game was built on explosive athleticism—highlight-reel dunks, chasedown blocks, and a physicality that set the tone. While injuries later tempered his explosiveness, Martin reinvented himself as a savvy veteran, contributing to deep playoff runs with the Denver Nuggets. His career arc is that of a foundational player who used sheer will and power to define an era of East Coast basketball.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Kenyon was born in 1977, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Kenyon Was Born
The biggest hits of 1977
#1 Movie
Star Wars
Best Picture
Annie Hall
#1 TV Show
Happy Days
Kenyon's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1977Born
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1982Started school
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1990Became a teenager
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
1993Could drive
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
1995Could vote
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
1998Turned 21
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2007Turned 30
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 40
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 49 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Selected as the first overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft by the New Jersey Nets.
- Named an NBA All-Star in 2004 while with the New Jersey Nets.
- Helped lead the Nets to two consecutive NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003.
- Won the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award in college and was a consensus national player of the year in 2000.
Did You Know?
He famously wore a protective face mask during the 2004 playoffs after suffering multiple facial fractures.
Martin has a large tattoo of a childhood portrait of himself on his back.
His son, Kenyon Martin Jr., was also drafted into the NBA.
He played one season in China for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers during the 2011 NBA lockout.
“I'm not a dirty player. I'm an aggressive player. There's a difference.”
