NBA Hall of Famer Slater Martin Died


Slater Martin, who won 4 championships playing for the Minneapolis Lakers and another with the St. Louis Hawks, has died at the age of 86. Per the AP: “Martin died Thursday at a skilled nursing facility in Houston after a sudden illness, daughter-in-law Becky Martin said. She said he was admitted to the nursing home Monday. Martin was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982. He went into the University of Texas’ Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1962, entered the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1964, and the school retired his No. 15 in 2009. ‘I think he’s the best defensive guard that ever lived. That includes all the ones right now,’ said Sid Hartman, the 92-year-old sports columnist for the Star Tribune of Minneapolis who served as the de-facto general manager of the Lakers. Hartman recalled Martin’s battles against Boston’s Bob Cousy, marveling at how Martin was able to keep Cousy under wraps. ‘He drove Cousy crazy,’ Hartman said Thursday night. ‘He was quick as a cat. He wasn’t a great shooter or a great scorer, but he was a fantastic point guard.’ The 5-foot-10 Martin averaged 9.8 points and 4.2 assists in 745 NBA regular-season game with Minneapolis, New York and St. Louis from 1949-50 to 1959-60. He averaged 10.0 points and 3.2 assists in 92 playoff games, winning titles with Minneapolis in 1950, ’52, ’53 and ’54 and St. Louis in 1958.”