Last month, it was revealed that Miami Heat playoff hero Caleb Martin would not be on the team if it wasn't for rapper J. Cole. Martin is from North Carolina, and after being cut by the Hornets in 2021, he returned home to try and find another gig on an NBA roster. One of the places he trained was a gym owned by Cole. After seeing Martin play, Cole reached out to his friend, Miami Heat Assistant Coach Caron Butler. “He had reached out to me and told me he had a very, very talented guy that was just wrecking shop up here in North Carolina and he had just got released from the Hornets...He reached out to me and I just invited him to an open scrimmage in the summer and from that point on he really earned his way on.”
Against the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, Martin shot 60.2% from the floor. Furthermore, he averaged 19.2 points and 6.4 rebounds across the seven-game series. Additionally, he shot 48.9% from three. It's unlikely that the Heat would have been unable to overcome the Celtics if Martin was not on the roster. And Martin was sure to shout out the man who got him there following the final game of the season.
Martin Shouts Out J. Cole
Speaking on the Dan Le Batard Show, Martin wasted no time in shouting out Cole. "Cole called me right after the game. Everybody knows the story about Cole pretty much now but Cole called me right after the game and he was just so hyped jumping up and down." Furthermore, Martin acknowledged that he would not be in this position without Cole's help. “Honestly, the chances of me being here without [J. Cole] making a phone call and getting in touch with Caron, it would be pretty slime-to-none. I definitely feel I wouldn’t be here for sure.”
However, Martin and the Heat now turn their attention to a different beast. June 1 marks the start of the NBA Finals, pitting the Miami Heat against the Denver Nuggets. For Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets, it's the first time they have ever made the NBA Finals. Furthermore, they enter as heavy favorites. Meanwhile, the Heat are looking to win their first NBA title since 2013. However, just one player, Udonis Haslem, remains from those glory days. Maybe J. Cole can inspire more heroics from the Heat.
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