Gators great Alijah Martin scores first NBA points

Rookie guard Alijah Martin, who helped lead the Florida Gators to the national championship in 2025, scored his first NBA points Friday night. Martin finished with 7 points in a 125-117 loss to Boston. He added 3 assists, 1 rebound and 1 block in 15 minutes.

In Martin’s three previous game appearances, he had not played in more than four minutes. But Friday,  he got extended action due to the absences of Scottie Barnes (knee) and Brandon Ingram (thumb). He was 3 of 7 from the field, including 1 of 5 from 3-point range.

Martin’s first points came on a layup. His second basket was a dunk over Boston’s Derrick White. He later added a 3-pointer.

Alijah Martin’s 2nd NBA bucket was this statement dunk!!!

The dunk and the stare down!!!! 😤 https://t.co/HibV5slZT1 pic.twitter.com/0JVUpUCp0v

— Omer Osman (@OmerOsman200) January 10, 2026

Raptors Republic praised Martin’s performance.

Martin, a second-round pick, played two games for Toronto in December and another on Jan. 3 prior to Friday’s game.

He has spent most of the season in the G League. In 14 G League games, he averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists a game. He shot 49.7 percent from the field and 41.8 percent from 3-point range.

In his lone season with the Gators after transferring from FAU, Martin averaged a career-high 14.4 points per game to help lead Florida to the 2025 title. He became the first player to start in a Final Four for two different schools. All told, Martin had 2,022 points, 786 rebounds, 321 3-point field goals, 253 assists and 211 steals over his college career.

In the 2025 Final Four, he scored 17 points in a semifinals win over Auburn, going 6 of 10 from the field and 2 of 3 from 3-point range. Martin two free throws with 46.5 seconds left in the national championship game vs. Houston to give Florida the lead for good.