Image Credit: Maddie Washburn, UAA

The heart of the three-headed monster that led the Florida Gators to their first national championship in 18 years, guard Alijah Martin on Thursday night was selected No. 39 overall by the Toronto Raptors in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft. Martin’s selection marked the second time in the last five offseasons that two Florida players were drafted in the same year.

Point guard Walter Clayton Jr., the Most Outstanding Player of the 2025 NCAA Tournament who set scoring records and made all kinds of history for the Gators, was selected by the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night after they acquired the draft rights to the No. 18 overall pick from the Washington Wizards as the first 30 picks unfolded at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Martin had a lot going for him that NBA evaluators loved throughout the pre-draft process, including a winning pedigree and “glue guy” personality that makes him an incredible culture fit in locker room settings.

A career 36% shooter from beyond the arc, he averaged highs of 14.4 points and 2.2 assists per game last season as he, Clayton and G Will Richard lead Florida to the national title. Martin scored 10+ points in eight of nine postseason games and remained a reliable No. 2 to Clayton from a scoring standpoint.

Undersized as a combo guard at 6-foot-2, creating positional ambiguity at the next level, Martin was not seen as a first-round prospect despite his laudable traits. His ability to attack the hoop and use his length both on the glass and on defense — along with that aforementioned personality — remind of Josh Hart (or an off-ball Derek Fisher), though Martin had proven to be a much better shooter as he entered the pros.

Clayton and Martin are the first Gators teammates selected in the same draft since PG Tre Mann (No. 18 overall and G Scottie Lewis (No. 56) in 2021. Mann will enter his second full season with the Charlotte Hornets after being traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder. Mann is entering his fifth NBA season after missing the majority of the 2024-25 campaign with a back injury, while Lewis played two games for the Hornets as a rookie but spent last season in the CEBL.

Richard was not projected as a selection among the 59 picks in the draft, but he is expected to be picked up as a priority undrafted free agent.