Charlotte Hornets: Who is… Cody Martin?

In the 2019 NBA draft, the Charlotte Hornets continued their trend of selecting utility forwards who can do a bit of everything. Enter, Cody Martin.

In the 2019 NBA draft, the Charlotte Hornets continued their trend of selecting utility forwards who can do a bit of everything. They used the 36th pick to draft Cody Martin out of the University of Nevada.

Cody spent four years in college, his Freshmen and Sophomore seasons were played at North Carolina State University, and his Junior and Senior years at Nevada.

Cody Martin averaged 9.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per game across his college basketball career. Cody also measured during the NBA combine at 6’5″ (in shoes) with a solid 6’10″ wingspan.

The stats for Cody in college aren’t necessarily going to catch your eye. Nothing screams “elite”.

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Jump forward to the 2019-20 NBA season and Cody Martin is receiving regular minutes for the Charlotte Hornets under coach James Borrego. He appears to doing something right, but again, his stats so far this season… 3.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1. assists, and 0.9 steals per game. Nothing eye popping for the rookie.

So why is Cody receiving minutes? What is he contributing to the team? How has he managed to impress James Borrego?

You’ve got to go beyond the stats to truly understand what it is Cody Martin brings to the court.

I encourage you, as a fan of basketball, to take the time to simply watch Cody Martin when he is on the basketball court. You will be impressed with the hustle and heart Cody plays with.

Need somebody diving on the court for the loose ball to secure an extra possession? You’ll see Cody there.

Need someone sprinting in transition to create an easy bucket? You’ll see Cody there.

Need someone capable of guarding the opposing teams best wing on the court? You’ll see Cody there.

As we know, James Borrego urges his team to compete each and every night. Cody Martin encapsulates this. He brings intensity on the defensive end of the floor. He has fantastic foot speed, and this really helps him to stay in front of his man. Occasionally he will get caught on a screen, but some of those NBA centers are so huge, it’s impossible not to.

He also has a pair of quick hands. He averages 4.1 deflections as well as a healthy 10.1 contested shots per 36 minutes. There’s no doubt these numbers will increase as Cody matures within the NBA.

The Charlotte Hornets as a team have a defensive rating of 110.5. Cody Martin on the other hand has a defensive rating of 94.0. This is a huge difference which speaks volumes of how superb he has been on that end of the court. While it is a small sample size thus far in the season, the positive trend is there.

When the Hornets get the stop, Cody is always out running in transition. Sprinting to the place he needs to be. It is so undervalued how much sprinting to your spot opens the door for the transition play to develop. Cody is a more-than-capable rim runner, often on the receiving end of an alley-oop.

Let’s look at his half-court offense. Cody Martin is definitely not the focal point of the offense (unless we’re talking about garbage time). In saying this, Cody is constantly playing within the Hornets offence. He isn’t trying to do too much beyond his current ability.

We’ve seen a big emphasis on ball movement within the team this season. It is clear to me Cody isn’t playing for his stats, he would rather to make the right basketball play. This comes in the form of swinging the basketball, maybe through the drive and kick, and even shooting if he needs to.

Nobody on the Hornets roster or coaching staff will ever be upset when Cody takes a shot. He earns each and every shot he takes on the defensive end of the floor.

Again, the Charlotte Hornets have an offensive rating of 103.2 so far this season and Cody has a rating of 103.2. His impact is slightly lesser on this end, but these numbers fluctuate from game to game.

It may be too early to project where Cody Martin will end up, but Mitch Kupchak may have found a really solid role player in the 24-year-old. He’s a man who will come to compete every night and no one is going to question his heart and intentions. He’ll do all the dirty work and has the motor to keep doing it all season long.