The Brooklyn Nets came into the 2025-26 NBA season trying to figure out what they had at the point guard spot, especially with three players with the 2025 NBA Draft vying for playing time. Thus far, Brooklyn has settled on the rotation of rookie Egor Demin as the starting point guard, but one of their veterans backups has stepped up recently.
“His work is showing. He did it all summer, he proved it last year,” Nets center Nic Claxton said of guard Tyrese Martin following Sunday’s 129-105 win at the Washington Wizards. Martin came off the bench on Sunday, but that underscores his impact as he went off for 20 points, four assists, one steal, and two blocks in Brooklyn’s most dominant win of the season.
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“He’s just proven his value every single night. We definitely need that that scoring and creativity off the bench. He helped us out a lot,” Claxton continued. Given that the Nets won by 24 points, it’s possible that they may not have needed Martin to do what he did coming off the bench, but Claxton has been one of the players to make sure to give the former UConn Husky credit for what he has done thus far in his career.
Martin, 26, is averaging 7.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 37.1% from the field and 29.8% from three-point range in what has been a tough season for him shooting the ball. In recent games, Martin has taken a backseat to rookie guard Egor Demin as head coach Jordi Fernandez is trying to give the 19-year-old the playing time that he needs to develop into an NBA-level point guard.
Martin had been struggling for much of November as he hadn’t score more than five points in a game since the last time that Brooklyn won a game before Sunday, a 112-103 win at the Indiana Pacers on Nov. 5. It seems that Martin will be getting his usual playing time within Fernandez’s rotation moving forward and if he continues to produce like he did at the Wizards, Claxton will probably have words aplenty to say about his teammate in the future.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets’ Nic Claxton praises Tyrese Martin’s work ethic, impact off bench