Brooklyn Nets: History of Nets in NBA All-Star Game
By Phil Watson
2004: Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin
The New Jersey Nets were coming off back-to-back Eastern Conference championships and were rewarded in 2004 with two All-Star selections for just the second time in franchise history, with Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin named to the Eastern squad as reserves.
For Kidd, it was his third straight All-Star appearance since coming to New Jersey and his sixth overall.
But Martin, 26, was in his fourth NBA season since being tabbed the No. 1 overall pick by the Nets out of the University of Cincinnati in 2000 and would be making his All-Star debut.
Kidd had played in 50 games prior to the break, averaging 16.9 points, 9.6 assists, 6.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 37.6 minutes per game, shooting 39.6 percent overall and 33.9 percent on 4.7 3-point attempts per game.
Martin had appeared in 44 games and was averaging 17.9 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1,5 steals and 1.3 blocks in 36.3 minutes, shooting 49.5 percent overall and 35 percent on 20 total deep attempts.
The Nets got off to a slugging 22-20 start under coach Byron Scott, who was replaced in January by assistant Lawrence Frank. New Jersey won its first 14 games under Frank, nine leading up to the All-Star break.
At 31-20, the Nets led the Atlantic Division by 7½ games over the New York Knicks.
Martin played 24 minutes in the All-Star Game, held in Los Angeles, scoring 17 points with seven rebounds and three assists on 8-of-10 shooting. Kidd logged 22 minutes and had 14 points, 10 assists, three boards and two steals, hitting 4-of-6 overall and 3-of-4 from deep.
But it was the West that took a 136-132 win behind MVP Shaquille O’Neal of the co-host Los Angeles Lakers. He finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
The Nets faltered a bit after the break, going 16-15, but still copping the Atlantic crown and the No. 2 seed in the East.
New Jersey swept the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs, and slugged it out over seven games with the eventual champion Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference semifinals before losing Game 7 in a blowout at Detroit, 90-69.
It was the only All-Star appearance in Martin’s 15 NBA seasons. He left the Nets after the 2003-04 season, going to the Denver Nuggets in a sign-and-trade deal.
He signed as a free aggent with the Los Angeles Clippers in February 2012 and in February 2013 went to New York on a pair of 10-day contracts before signing for the remainder of the season. Martin re-signed with the Knicks in July 2013.
He returned to the NBA in January 2015, signing a pair of 10-day deals with the Milwaukee Bucks and earning a full contract. But the Bucks waived him in February 2015 and Martin announced his retirement in July of that year.