Donning a No. 27 practice pinnie and baggy blue shorts, Nick Martinelli stepped onto the hardwood floor at Wintrust Arena.
When he wore Northwestern’s No. 2 jersey, the Glenview, Illinois, native never lost in the building, scoring 40 points across two games against crosstown rival DePaul. But at the NBA Draft Combine on the same court, Martinelli admitted “the competition upped,” a challenge the Wildcats’ senior forward welcomed all the same.
“I never knew that I was going to have the opportunity, or even thought or fathomed that I would have the opportunity to work out for NBA teams, let alone make it to the NBA Combine,” Martinelli said. “If you’re disciplined and you just stay the course every single day, you get out there and roll the balls out, and it’s just like you’ve done it so many times, it just comes to you naturally.”
The NU veteran finished his collegiate career with back-to-back Big Ten scoring titles, becoming the first player in the conference to score 20-plus points against the other 17 Big Ten teams in a career. Despite one of the most prolific careers in program and conference history, he still may not hear his name called on draft night.
ESPN’s NBA Draft analyst Jeremy Woo’s mock drafts are well-respected. Woo was in attendance at Welsh-Ryan Arena when Martinelli and the ’Cats held a 16-point lead over eventual national champion Michigan, its largest deficit of the season, before a second-half collapse. Heading into the combine, ESPN’s official mock draft had projected Martinelli to be pick No. 58 to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Martinelli knows there are concerns about his unique style of play, but isn’t shying away from how it’s helped him get to where he is.
“Everyone’s always told me, ‘It doesn’t look good’ or ‘You don’t pass the eye test.’ I hear it all the time,” Martinelli said. “Obviously, it gets to me a little bit, but at the end of the day, I’ve truly been blessed with gifts from God like the touch and the way that I move. I see it as a blessing; other people might see it as a curse.”
Former Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn matched up against the Wildcat phenom six times across four seasons. Twice, the players stood on opposite sides of the court as seas of purple stormed the floor following the ’Cats’ upsets over No. 1-ranked Purdue squads.
The Boilermakers earned the last word, however, defeating NU in the third round of the Big Ten Tournament at the United Center in March.
As Martinelli checked out for the final time of his college career, Purdue fans rose to their feet and gave the ’Cats star a standing ovation, a moment Martinelli later said he had to rewatch to fully appreciate.
Kaufman-Renn said he joined in the applause and reflected on how he has seen his long-time opponent “grow and be productive as a basketball player.”
“He’s super unorthodox,” Kaufman-Renn said. “Jumps on his free throws. Weird form. Shoots flooters. Everything about him screams untraditional, but he’s productive, and he plays his ass off. Somebody like me, as a player, you can’t give him enough respect.”
Martinelli earned his respect on the court in the 5-on-5 segment of the combine, racking up 18 points and three rebounds in his first game and 13 points and five rebounds in his second. After spending most of the season double- or triple-teamed, the 6-foot-7 senior said that it “definitely felt good to cut freely” through the lane and score some easy baskets.
Beyond the stat lines, Martinelli’s efforts were apparent. Playing in scrimmages on the same team as players like Kansas’ Flory Bidunga and Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner, who may return to college, Martinelli showcased a different type of hunger, diving on loose balls and making the team huddle during stoppages of play.
“As a second-round guy, you want to have somebody that’s super confident as a leader,” Martinelli said. “It doesn’t matter what type of opportunity this is for me, I just want to play the right way and respect the game every time and work my butt off.”
NU’s star announced that he interviewed with the Minnesota Timberwolves and has plans to meet with a “decent amount” of teams, including the Dallas Mavericks. Martinelli added that he worked out for four or five teams last year and worked out in front of the Charlotte Hornets before the combine.
One team left off his list to work out with is his hometown Chicago Bulls, he said, adding that it would be an amazing experience and “you never know” what the cards have in store.
The combine wasn’t all business for Martinelli, as he got to play and hang out with some of the top players in the country. He highlighted that it was especially great to “chirp a bit” of trash and “pick the brains” of his former Big Ten competition.
One of those players was Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton. He, Kaufman-Renn and Martinelli are three of only 22 high-major scholarship players who played all four years at one school. Thornton said he was impressed by not only Martinelli’s play on the court but also his character and work ethic.
“What he accomplished at Northwestern, it definitely was an honor to play against him,” Thornton said. “It was great playing against dudes like him that give it his all, and he gave it his all to that Northwestern program.”
With all the time spent in Evanston, the ’Cats senior has a lot of goodbyes to say. Coach Chris Collins came to support Martinelli, not from the sidelines, but from the stands. The fifth longest-tenured coach in the Big Ten cheered on his former player during the first day of 5-on-5 scrimmages, but also had things that he was “nitpicking.” Martinelli praised how honest Collins has been to him, though, calling it “a blessing” and that it helps keep him “stable.”
With former NU guard Brooks Barnhizer receiving an invitation to the G League Elite Combine last year, he has also been able to assist Martinelli with preparation, with Martinelli calling Barnhizer “a role model” along with his other big brothers in the program.
“I always am trying to get Coach (Collins) to have an alumni day where everyone comes back,” Martinelli said. “We’re always sending videos and texting in our old group chat, and after games, we got guys like Chase Audige or Robbie (Beran), watching the game at 3 a.m. where they’re at, texting me. The camaraderie has just been the best thing at the school, so that’s probably what I’ll miss most.”
Martinelli’s freshman year roommate, Luke Hunger, is a part of that bunch. Hunger said that Martinelli told him the coaching staff intended to redshirt him and use him as a “developmental piece.”
For Hunger, it was clear that the coaches couldn’t keep his former roommate on the bench for long, believing that “there’s no one in the country who wants to win more than Nick.” The 6-foot-10 forward called back to the pair’s freshman-year game against Iowa, where Martinelli had a season-high nine points and showed off his patented left-handed hook.
“I know he’s going to get drafted,” Hunger said. “I know people probably will think that his game doesn’t translate or anything, but I definitely think he’ll make the next level.”
Although he’s been in the limelight for most of his collegiate career, Martinelli has always had a team-first mindset. The senior constantly shifted the spotlight off his individual achievements to highlight the play of others in postgame press conferences throughout the season.
In those press conferences, Martinelli would always sit in the “lucky left” chair, but at the NBA Combine, there was only one chair for him. Without missing a beat, Martinelli explained that this stretch of his career still isn’t individual.
“I got teammates here, I get to point to them a little bit,” Martinelli said. “Obviously, we only have a couple days together, but I have a team with me every day, my trainer and people who work me out every day. That’s my team.”
At 10 a.m. on May 15, Martinelli worked out in front of select media and team officials at his Pro Day. Showcasing his quick decision-making, post-up moves and even a windmill dunk, he put on a display for those in attendance. While most of his game seemed polished, the career 36.2% 3-point shooter seemed to have trouble getting his shot to fall.
Consistency on his 3-pointer and working on his athleticism were some of the pieces of feedback that Martinelli received last year when he tested the NBA Draft waters before returning to NU, a decision he said he doesn’t regret. At the combine, his three-fourths court sprint was the third slowest and his no-step vertical leap was the fifth-worst.
As Martinelli walked off the floor following his workout, a new wave of prospects entered Wintrust Arena. Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz, Illinois’ Andrej Stojaković and several other high-profile names passed by Martinelli as they prepared for their own Pro Days. Along with them came an influx of scouts, coaches and media members who had not been present during Martinelli’s session.
Purdue’s Braden Smith was among that group. The 2025 Bob Cousy Award winner and three-time All-Big Ten selection finds himself in a situation similar to Martinelli’s: two highly accomplished Big Ten players trying to prove they belong in NBA draft conversations despite feeling overlooked by many evaluators.
“He knows we are in the same conversation as being underrated and doing those things,” Smith said. “I don’t think he really needs an explanation because he knows that he is capable of showing that he belongs and that he can play, because he’s good enough.”
On May 19, Woo released his new post-combine mock draft. He projected Martinelli to the Atlanta Hawks with the 57th pick, one spot higher than in his previous mock draft.
Now, Martinelli waits. Sixty picks stand between the ’Cats star and the chance to play his favorite game at the highest level.
But when asked where he hopes to hear his name called, Martinelli kept his answer characteristically simple.
“Probably any team I get to go play basketball at and go get to dribble the ball,” he said.
Yoni Zacks contributed reporting.
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