KJ Martin, Paul George, Tyrese Maxey, and Nick Nurse all discussed Martin’s standout 20-point performance against the Magic.

Lately, KJ Martin has been more than just an elite leaper for the Sixers. His contributions extend to attacking in transition, providing defensive flexibility, showing savvy in the short roll and dunker spot, and gradually becoming more comfortable with taking open jumpers.

Despite the Sixers’ 6-15 record, they’ve been 4-3 over the last seven games without Joel Embiid (who’s managing a knee injury), with two of those losses being close contests against tough teams. Martin has averaged 25.3 minutes per game during this stretch. In Friday’s victory over the Magic, the Sixers played with intensity, and Martin scored 20 points on an impressive 9-for-10 shooting.

“When you go out there, you want to play as hard as you can,” Martin said. “My dad (Kenyon Martin Sr.) always told me, ‘I don’t care how many points you score, just give it your all every night.’ I take that to heart—competing, being active, and the ball finds energy. When I see a shot go up, I just go and jump. The coaches tell me to just go and jump, then figure the rest out.”

On Friday, Martin shared the frontcourt with Guerschon Yabusele for 20 minutes. Though they gave up significant height to the Magic—Martin at 6’6” and Yabusele at 6’8”—the two played well together with minimal mistakes.

“We complement each other well,” Martin said. “Guerschon can shoot, which helps in certain situations where he can pick-and-pop, or be on the wing while I take the dunker spot—or vice versa. If I’m up the floor early, I let him trail and play off of him.”

Martin also understands how to play off Tyrese Maxey’s double teams, especially with Joel Embiid out. “Tyrese gets doubled a lot, and I know when he hits me in the short roll, I can make plays for my teammates, including Guerschon.”

Sixers head coach Nick Nurse had been optimistic about Martin’s shooting ability since Day 1, noting that Martin’s offseason work was yielding positive results.

“I had a shooting coach all summer,” Martin said. “I spent two weeks just working on my shot, not leaving the paint, tweaking it. A big focus was coming into this season being consistent from three.”

Though Martin is just 5-for-14 from three so far, he’s attempted at least one three in four consecutive games and is hitting 85.2% of his free throws (23-for-27). His growth as a shooter could make him even more dangerous offensively, but he’s already contributing in other ways.

“Martin’s still young—he was 22 last year, now he’s 23,” Paul George said. “He’s comfortable with the team, has found his rhythm, and is being aggressive. He’s a two-way player who can do it all: defend, rebound, shoot, and play multiple positions.”

An interesting quirk of Martin’s game is that he shoots jump shots and free throws with his right hand, but is otherwise heavily left-hand dominant. When driving or scoring around the rim, it’s almost always with his left hand.

“I’m all messed up,” Martin joked. “I throw a baseball with my left, I kick with my left, but I write and eat with my right. I shoot with my right, too. When I was younger, I used two hands to shoot, but my dad said, ‘Pick one.’ I chose my right hand for shooting, but I use my left for everything else.”

Martin’s dad, Kenyon Sr., often jokes that he wishes KJ had shot left-handed, as lefties are thought to shoot better. But KJ is content with his right hand for jump shots, saying, “It works well enough for me.”