Caleb Martin is one of the unheralded players who helped the team make an NBA Finals run as an 8-seed in 2023. As an undrafted free agent in 2019, Martin was out of the NBA in 2021 and working out with rapper (and sneaky-good basketball player) J Cole, who eventually played a key role in setting up a Caleb Martin Heat tryout.

Martin went undrafted in 2019, and the Charlotte Hornets scooped him up after drafting his twin brother, Cody, in the second round. In two seasons with Charlotte, Cody Martin played in 61 games while splitting time between the Hornets and their G League affiliates, the Greensboro Swarm.

After the Hornets waived Martin, he was working out and staying in shape for his next NBA opportunity. This involved playing pickup hoops with superstar rapper J Cole — an excellent high school player who even played three games professionally for the Patriots Basketball Club in Rwanda, which is part of the Basketball Africa League.

Martin shared with NBA insider Shams Charania that when he told Cole no NBA teams were offering him a tryout for the 2021-22 season yet, the rapper told him, “Let me look at my contacts.”

The contact J Cole found was former NBA star and Heat assistant coach Caron Butler, which led to a Caleb Martin Heat workout.

Martin impressed the Heat staff while playing with the team in practice, and a few short hours later, the team offered him a two-way contract.

That two-way turned into 60 games with the Heat in 2021-22 and 71 games (49 as a starter) in 2022-23. And on the way to the 2023 NBA Finals, Martin has been a key player for his team. Through 22 postseason games this year, Martin is averaging 30.1 minutes, 12.8 points, 1.6 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game.